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Dubai Harbour welcomes 100% renewables-powered Swiss vessel
Dubai Harbour, an extraordinary seafront district, welcomed the Swiss experimental vessel powered solely by renewables, Porrima, to its marinas on March 17, 2022, as part of its worldwide journey across five continents called the Blue Odyssey.
Choosing Dubai Harbour for its second world destination, the first-of-its-kind solar, wind and hydrogen-powered ship has travelled more than 11,000km without stopping since departing Osaka, Japan, on December 18, 2021.
Dubai Harbour – recently voted as the winner of the World’s Best New Cruise Development at the 1st Annual World Cruise Awards 2021 – is home to the region’s largest marina and features Bay Marina, Dubai’s first dedicated superyacht marina which can accommodate yachts up to 160m in length. Dubai Harbour is also home to Palm View Marina and Harbour Marina offering 556 berths for yachts up to 40 meters and a curated mix of restaurants, cafes, and retail offerings.
Upon arrival at Dubai Harbour, the Porrima berthed at Harbour Marina in front of the Yacht Club building before unveiling a suite of renewable technologies that have been proven on board. It will invite the youth to join the ‘Blue Campus’ to learn the skills and build the talent around the showcased next-generation solutions to sustainable ocean industries and resource preservation.
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Abdulla Binhabtoor, chief portfolio management officer, Shamal Holding, the company which owns Dubai Harbour, said, “We are excited to welcome the Porrima to Dubai Harbour for its third odyssey around the globe. It is exciting to see how the intersection of technology and sustainability come together to help tackle the environmental challenges that we face today. The Porrima brings sustainable mobility to the forefront, and we are committed to accelerating action to preserve a healthy planet for generations to come.”
The journey, which aims to arrive at its destination after a refit with 12 novel technologies in time for the opening of the Expo 2025 Osaka, will see the vessel dock at ports around the world to demonstrate how to tackle problems such as pollution and climate change through the use of commercially viable renewable technologies.
The project comes in response to a call to action from the Japan Association for the 2025 World Exposition, which invites initiatives geared towards realising ‘an ideal future society.’ Porrima – named after the Roman goddess of the future – was the first in the world to circumnavigate the globe using only solar energy under its previous name, ‘Planet Solar’. Now, using solar, wind and hydrogen, the 36-metre 100-tonne vessel also utilises artificial intelligence and technologies inspired by nature. Just as lungs remove the CO2 from our blood, the same technique is used to clean seawater, isolate and destroy microplastics, making Porrima the only vessel in the word certified to produce and consume hydrogen on board.
The creator of the enterprise is the serial entrepreneur, economist, and author Gunter Pauli, who sets out to inspire the next generation with competitive and commercially viable renewable technologies and techniques. He said, “We need to wake up the entrepreneurs of the future, and I believe Dubai is the right place for this. The innovation and adoption of the kind of technologies that we are showcasing on the Porrima will have a fundamental role to play in the realisation of many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals – and provide a blueprint for creating an ideal future society.”
Salik is taking another step beyond toll collection, announcing plans to introduce smart parking and vehicle access systems across three of Dubai’s major economic zones.
Under a new agreement with the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority (DIEZ), the company will explore parking optimisation and access control solutions covering more than 21,000 parking spaces at Dubai Airport Freezone (DAFZ), Dubai Silicon Oasis and Dubai CommerCity.
The proposed systems are designed to improve traffic flow, reduce congestion, prevent misuse of parking spaces and make it easier for businesses, employees and visitors to move around the free zones.
The partnership marks the launch of a new business vertical for Salik as it continues expanding beyond its traditional road toll operations into wider mobility and digital transport services.
What will change?
The companies plan to integrate their technology platforms to create a connected parking and vehicle access system across the three zones.
Planned features include:
- Smart parking management
- Automated vehicle access control
- Improved traffic flow within free zones
- Better use of available parking spaces
- Unified operating standards across all three locations
Which areas are covered?
The project will span:
- Dubai Airport Freezone (DAFZ)
- Dubai Silicon Oasis
- Dubai CommerCity
Together, the three locations offer more than 21,000 parking spaces serving businesses, residents, investors and visitors.
No timeline has yet been announced for when the new systems will be rolled out.
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