Canadian filmmaker, philanthropist, and deep-sea explorer James Cameron and his company OceanX, with billionaire Ray Dalio and his son Mark Dalio, has recently announced the plans to refit the 85-metre explorer yacht Alucia2, previously known as Volstad Surveyor, built in 2010 by Freire Shipyard.
Volstad Surveyor
Gresham Yacht Design have created the design for OceanX’s new 85-metre project Alucia2. The vessel has been commissioned by an existing owner and philanthropist who together with OceanX aim to further explore the secrets of the ocean together with director James Cameron and BBC’s Blue Planet.
“We are thrilled to be a part of such an exciting and unique project,” says Steve Gresham, founder and principal designer at Gresham Yacht Design. “These types of projects are rare to come by and we are honoured to have been commissioned by the owner to deliver a design that is extremely functional and robust, it is a true explorer vessel.”
OceanX will use Alucia2 as a next generation platform to discover 70 per cent of the planet that remains mostly unexplored and share this secret world through carefully executed media. The mission of the team is to “enable explorers and researchers to explore the unseen ocean, map uncharted areas of the world, observe rare deep-sea creatures, and pursue scientific and medical breakthroughs — and then bring all of these wonders back to the wider world,” reveals OceanX’s press team at the time of launch earlier this week.
Alucia2 was built by Freire and launched in 2010. As part of her transformation into a high-tech scientific research vessel, she is currently undergoing a major refit in The Netherlands, during which significant improvements will be made with the aim of enabling the OceanX team to explore further than ever before.
To take on global expeditions, Alucia2 will be fitted with state-of-the-art marine research labs, cutting-edge media equipment, manned and autonomous deep-sea submersibles, helicopters and drones. A media centre within the vessel will ensure superior film making capabilities, which have been developed in consultation with filmmaker and ocean explorer James Cameron. “With OceanX and Alucia2, we will reignite global passion for and curiosity about the ocean in our global, digitally-connected age,” says James Cameron.
Alucia2 will be the result of a commercial vessel conversion, which has already begun a major refit with a delivery expected in early 2019. Once delivered, it will replace the owner’s existing vessel 55.7-metre Alucia, which is currently for sale through Fraser for $19,750,000 and owned by Ray Dalio.
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