Blue & Beyond #13 - Top Tips For An Eco-Friendly Yacht Charter

It’s no secret that the yachting industry, unfortunately, contributes its fair share of damage to the natural world. From the inescapable use of single-use plastics on board to the damage to the sea bed due to anchors, it’s not often that yachting is associated with environmental friendliness. Over the past year, however, more and more charter yachts are taking the lead in changing this perception, with crews finding creating new, eco-friendly ways of living and working onboard superyachts.

09 July 2019

Eco-friendly yacht charter

Yacht crew travel to some of the world’s beautiful destinations and constantly bear witness to shores littered with plastic, once-secluded bays polluted and destroyed. Those that are affected most are now the ones who are implementing day to day practices that, if enough yachts followed suit, could significantly reduce a charter yacht’s environmental impact while improving the level of quality of life on board.

Yacht crews throughout the global charter fleet have undertaken a range of initiatives: everything from completely replacing single-use plastic water bottles on board, to taking it a step further and creating homemade eco-friendly cleaning products and toiletries. AWOL is a charter yacht whose crew deeply believes in taking care of the environment and has dedicated life on board to doing just that - and more.

Each department in AWOL’s crew only uses eco-friendly products - from laundry and galley detergents to wash-down soaps and engineering degreasers. Guest toiletries are homemade, entirely biodegradable and do not contain harmful or unethical ingredients. The crew is rightfully proud of their success in finding efficient and safe eco products which nurture their motto of “A Way of Life”, and help do their bit in keeping those idyllic waters, turquoise.

The Clear Ocean Pact

In April, the AWOL yacht crew also took the step of signing the charter yacht up to the Clear Ocean Pact initiative which seeks to unite yachts in the fight against the environmentally damaging aspects of superyacht charter and operations. The AWOL yacht charter crew recently commented: “Our Chief Stewardess, Giverny, has just signed us up for an exciting challenge with #clearoceanpact. Onboard M/Y AWOL we already have many of these practices in place! We are always eager to learn and share new ways to take care of our seas. We are very fortunate to have an owner who supports these ideas. After all, without the beauty of the sea, where would you enjoy your holidays?”

Built by Italian yard Sanlorenzo in 2009, and fresh from a refit in 2019, AWOL (A Way of Life) is one of the Italian shipyard Sanlorenzo’s popular SD122 models and is ideally suited for a memorable superyacht charter with family or friends. She features ample spaces on board, an array of water toys and a one-of-a-kind crew truly dedicated to making the impossibility of an eco-friendly yacht charter a reality.
For further information on how you can make your yacht charter more environmentally friendly or to book M/Y AWOL, please contact the Bluewater Charter Team.