​8 September represented a milestone for The Ocean Cleanup. System 001 left from San Francisco Bay, heading for the Great Pacific. System 001 consists of a 600-meter-long U-shaped floating barrier with a three-meter skirt attached below. The system is autonomous and passively catches and concentrates plastic debris in front of it, and then funnels it to the center of the system. The launch represents an enormous step forward in the ambition of the founder of The Ocean Cleanup, Boyan Slat, to clean up the Great Pacific garbage patch. This patch of floating plastic is about three times the size of France (an estimate based on research by The Ocean Cleanup). 

AKD advised The Ocean Cleanup on issues such as whether the floating installation may be considered a vessel, and which laws and regulations are applicable to System 001 from a Dutch and Public International law perspective. AKD also assisted in drafting the Agreement (Dutch only) between The Ocean Cleanup and the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management.

Visit the website of The Ocean Cleanup for more information on this project.

AKD's team consists of Taco van der Valk and Vivian van der Kuil.