The Ocean Cleanup Deploys Its First Cleanup Boat in Chao Phraya River

One of Thailand’s most famous waterways, the Chao Phraya River, is getting a cleanup! This is through the launch of the non-profit environmental engineering organisation The Ocean Cleanup’s Interceptor 019 boat, its first-ever in the Land of Smiles.

Interceptor 019 is the organisation’s solar-powered and fully automated river cleanup solution technology, deployed in cooperation with The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, The Coca-Cola Company, the Embassy of the Netherlands in Bangkok, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources, Asian Marine Service, Ecomarine, and Chulalongkorn University.

It is also The Ocean Cleanup’s fifth Interceptor in Southeast Asia, following Vietnam, Indonesia, and two deployments in Malaysia.

Under the project, Interceptor 019 will navigate the 16-kilometre stretch of river and extract trash to prevent it from reaching the Gulf of Thailand and nearby oceans. Collected trash will be studied to understand the composition of plastic floating in the river, said The Ocean Cleanup in a press statement.

The organisation also set up cameras on various bridges in Bangkok to allow them to learn what route these plastic wastes take while floating downstream.

“Interceptor 019 marks a significant milestone in closing the tap on plastic pollution entering the oceans from Bangkok. This deployment is only the first step, alongside the Bangkok authorities and our other partners, in cleaning up the Chao Phraya,” said The Ocean Cleanup Founder and CEO Boyan Slat.

To learn more about the project, click here.