Liveaboard donated to Red Sea Cleanup

Red Sea liveaboard operator blue o two has donated one of its vessels to conservationists running reef cleanups for the whole of January.

Following a series of successful cleanups run from liveaboard trips in 2008, blue o two is donating its northern Red Sea vessel M/Y Blue Fin to the Hurghada Environmental Protection and Conservation Association (HEPCA) during January.

The operator is also offering divers reduced prices on week-long trips. Guests joining the subsidised trips take part in cleanups of the Egyptian Red Sea's most littered shorelines between regular holiday dives, and can attend on-board seminars by marine biologist and dive guide Elke Bojanowski.

Together with HEPCA, blue o two is focusing on cleaning reefs that are accessible by daily snorkelling and diving vessels. It says these areas are prone to more rubbish being thrown overboard by visitors. Blue o two has won the Responsible Tourism Award for Best In a Marine Environment for the past two years, and the Hayah reef project is the latest environmental scheme to be supported by the operator.

'When the idea was born, we were not sure if people would be interested in giving up some of their precious holiday time to clean reefs and learn about global ocean devastation,' said Natalie Tyler of blue o two. 'How refreshingly wrong we were. We have now operated four successful trips. Then we devoted M/Y Blue Fin to the project for January. Critics might say that the only attraction in these safaris is the subsidised price, but in talking to our guests I don't believe this is entirely true.'

As part of the Hayah project, conservationists plan to collate statistical analysis of the rubbish collected, such as weight and type of waste found. 'We schedule in two to three cleanups a week,' said Tyler. 'Divers go down in groups with the aim of collecting as much removable rubbish as possible. Before each clean, our divers are briefed on the importance of not removing rubbish that has become a marine creature's home. The Hayah project is funded purely by blue o two. The end result is affordable ecotourism.' Amr Ali, HEPCA chairman, said: 'As the sense of responsibility grows bigger among divers and travellers, soon we will see the day when the main factor in choosing a diving or tour operator will be the social responsibility of that operator towards the community, nature and the globe.'

Source - Dive Magazine UK