News
From November 2012, you can read the news on the Greenheart blog
http://greenheartproject.posterous.com
October --
Featured in Ship Management International
Sail and Solar Vessel Project Underway (PDF ? pg2)
September/October 2012 (Issue 39) http://shipmanagementinternational.com
September --
Pat Utley on Radio Cardiff UK (September 27, 2012)
http://www.pythagoras-trousers.co.uk
Back to the future…(September 26, 2012)
http://keithmelton10.wordpress.com/2012/09/26/back-to-the-future/
Pacific Islands look to first zero emissions cargo network (September 24, 2012)
http://reneweconomy.com.au/2012/pacific-islands-look-to-first-zero-emissions-cargo-network-21504
Can Solar-Powered Sailing Ships Open Up Ocean-Based Commerce? (September 21, 2012)
http://sustainablog.org/2012/09/solar-powered-sailing-ships/
Greenheart Initiative For "Zero-Emissions" Small Cargo Ships (September 9, 2012)
http://martinjapan.blogspot.jp/2012/09/greenheart-initiative-for-zero.html
The Greenheart Project (September 8, 2012)
http://www.freshcurrents.org/blog/2012/09/08/the-greenheart-project/
Greenheart Project Crowd funding- Help Build the First Greenheart Ship (September 2, 2012)
http://www.oldsaltblog.com/2012/09/02/greenheart-project-crowdfunding-help-build-the-first-greenheart-ship/
5-7 Sept -- SMM (Shipbuilding, Machinery & Marine Technology), Hamburg
http://smm-hamburg.de/en
8-9 Sept - FA!R2012 In Dortmund, Germany Trade Fair for Fair Trade
http://www.westfalenhallen.de/messen/fair/en
13-14 Sept -- We have been invited to Carbon War Room, Berlin Conference to discuss Shipping Efficiency and the future of Sustainable Shipping
http://shippingefficiency.org
August -- Greenheart Europe meetings with Microvett in Bologna. Thanks for the tour of the factory and discussions on European events for the Maiden Voyage and beyond...
http://www.micro-vett.it/index_en.php
July -- A Call for Shipboard Research Proposals is going out this summer. Ocean sciences, social sciences, and other pertinent disciplines are invited to put forward projects. Applicants are welcome to submit one-page outlines for staffed, or equipment-only research projects for inclusionin s/v Greenheart's maiden voyage. Please direct inquiries to Michele: michele.maurizzi[at]greenheartproject.org.
July -- Villages, ports and municipalities along the route of our first ship are being selected for participation in the Ports-of-Call Network. Ports-of-Call will be inked in trade, cultural exchange, educational campaigns, and academic programs. Nominations and other inquiries can be sent to Pat -- patutley[at]greenheartproject.org
June -- Greenheart has begun preparations for a grassroots, crowd funding campaign to raise at least $120,000. The fund drive will start in July and run through September. We have begun to contact the long list of people and organizations around the world that have been supporting Gh over the years, asking that they notify the people and groups in their networks. Some donations will be recognized with certificates of Clean Transport - credits toward either shipping goods on, or crewing aboard our first Greenheart ship. See our 'Make It Happen >> Donate' page for details.
May & June -- Greenheart thanks all the commercial interests, agencies and service providers in the shipping and workboat industries we met at the Sea Japan & Seawork International trade events. We are working hard to follow up on all the inquiries and offers we received.
16 -17 June -- Alternative Rio+20 Conference, London, UK Greenheart will be attending this large event at SOAS to discuss with key figures in the global campaign against climate change the changes that are needed in the shipping and maritime environment sectors.
http://www.campaigncc.org
May
29 May -- Sustainability and Shipping, Cardiff UK
Greenheart will be talking about the impact of standard shipping, initiatives to reduce that and our vision of fundamental change the small shipping sector, zero emissions and the empowerment of coastal and river communities.
Come and join us at this FREE half-day event in Cardiff Bay and listen to world leading research on sustainability and shipping. Speakers include Dr. Paul Nieuwenhuis, Dr. Kyriaki Mitroussi, Cardiff Business School, Gavin Allwright, Director of the Greenheart Project and Professor Helen Sampson, Director of the Seafarers International Research Centre (SIRC). Space is limited so book early!
http://brass-sustainability-and-shipping.eventbrite.com
Tuesday 29th May 2012
10am-1.30pm
Norwegian Church, Cardiff Bay, CF10 4PA
May 12-13 ? We will be visiting Hamburg again to help cement our ties to the city and Hamburg port. The Hamburg Hafengeburtstag (Port Birthday) is being held from May 11-13. Please let us know if you will be coming, it will be great to meet you there.
May 14 -- We will be visiting the factory of our primary PV panel sponsor Sovello. There will be a tour of their state-of-the-art factory and discussion on how we can cooperate more closely throughout the first ship production period.
May 15-17 -- Meetings in Berlin and Copenhagen with the German and Danish environment ministries, MAERSK shipping and Greenheart supporters.
May 18-20 ?- EVENT -- Our friends at Fair Transport are bringing their sail brigantine the Tres Hombres back to Europe with a mixed cargo including some of the first rum to be transported by sail from the Caribbean to Europe in the last hundred years. Their cargoes have included fair trade coffee, chocolate and organic wine. We are helping to set up a welcome event at Gun Wharf Key in Portsmouth, UK and everyone is welcome to come down, greet the ship on her arrival or while she is off loading, meet the crew and perhaps a glass or two as well.
This is sail cargo, so there will be some flexibility on the arrival time/date, depending on weather and winds. There will also be a stop in Oostende, Belgium May 26-27th and then their return home to Den Helder, Netherlands around June 1st.
May 22-24 -- Greenheart will be attending Seawork International, Southampton, UK. This is the largest commercial marine and workboat event to be held in a European working port.
April
We attended and presented at Fair Trade International Symposium & GeoFairtrade Conference (UK, 02-04 April) Greenheart received a warm welcome and the conference was a real inspiration with a mix of around 150 academics, FT practitioners and producer groups and more joining us online.
Garstang, First Fairtrade Town and FIG Cafe, first international Fairtrade visitors center. A warm welcome, fantastic coffee and a great glimpse at with a few dedicated people, a bold idea and the will to make it happen sparked a movement with over 1100 FT towns, FT cities, FT regions and a FT country. Thanks Bruce, keep up the fantastic work!
Pat attended Sea Japan(Japan, 18-20 April). Great reception from shipping companies and equipment suppliers. We received a lot of encouragement and a lot of good contacts.
March
Pat's article concerning the Greenheart project featured in the international Greenports magazine has been well received. Findable at http://www.greenport.com/features101/marine-civils/technology/greenheart-project
Gavin, our Commercial Director, has relocated to the UK and will be taking over all the European operations as well as continuing with commercial activities of securing sponsorship and equipment supplies, we wish him all the best in this new start along with his family.
We have been asked to make a presentation about the standard shipping network’s environmental impact, sustainable shipping and Greenheart at the Fair Trade International Symposium & GeoFairtrade Conference in Liverpool, UK - 02-04 April. We would like to thank Michael at the World Fair Trade Organisation (WFTO) for helping to arrange that.
February 2012
Bangladesh: Gh entered into negotiations with Western Marine Shipyard Ltd. in Chittagong, Bangladesh for the building of our first prototype vessel with a provisional launch date of spring 2013.
This shipyard has a reputation for quality construction to international standards having completed both large and small contracts for both domestic and international clients. On our visit to the shipyard we were impressed by the facilities and professional management team. Currently Western Marine is engaged in the refit and conversion of the sail auxiliary Rainbow Warrior II into a hospital ship for the Friendship Association.
We also visited the Taratari Shipyard, associated with the Friendship Association, and run by Yves Marre one of the founders. Yves shared many of his valuable experiences of shipbuilding in Bangladesh and we are greatly impressed by his fishing boat initiatives and the construction of the hospital ships, multi-hull ambulances and support for local wooden ship artisans.
The Greenheart project was also presented to a number of Fair Trade, Micro-financing and Social Enterprise development organizations. We will be building on the positive reception that we received as we develop a Bay of Bengal programme for cargo, fishing and eco-tourism.
South Pacific:Development of the Fiji Islands "Sail-Powered Village Vessels"￣ilot Programme. This pilot programme is headed by the Regional Oceania Office of the IUCN. This will service communities in Kadavu and Lau Provinces, Fiji Islands. We aim to build 3 catamarans and lease one Greenheart vessel to test a sustainable shipping feeder/liner service. Funding is being sort from Ausaid and the UN Adaptation Fund and a stakeholder’s conference will be held in late 2012. We hope this will provide a model for adaptation and community resilience in the South Pacific.
January 2012
Greenheart begins helping the establishment of a sustainable shipping group to bring small-scale sail cargo catamarans and Greenheart vessels to Fiji and the rest of the South Pacific. The group includes representatives from International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Fiji Islands Voyaging Society (FIVS), Sailing for Sustainability (S4S), University of the South Pacific, School of Marine Studies (USP) and B9 Shipping Ltd.
December 2011
Greenheart is delighted announce our new solar power sponsor, Sovello. Sovello's innovative products are matched only by their fierce commitment to sustainability. We look forward to working with them as we get our first ship into the water.
Our European team visited Hamburg, Germany for meetings with the Hamburg Port Authority, Hamburg Senate and numerous shipping and renewable energy transport organizations in the region. Together, we are laying the foundations to make Hamburg our main hub for operations in Europe.
A visit to the Netherlands rounded off a very productive month, with meetings at the World Fair Trade Organisation, discussing our ships promotion of Fair trade producers worldwide, Greenpeace, talking technical hybrid sail matters and sailing and trading inspiration with Andreas of the Tres Hombres, www.fairtransport.eu
October 2011
Greenheart presents at the Sustainable Shipping Conference in Vancouver.
Our project was warmly welcomed by the sustainable shipping community at the conference and we were able to contribute to the debates surrounding zero-emissions shipping and hybrid sail cargo vessels for the future.
We also attended numerous meetings with city government, port authorities and economic development agencies in Vancouver and Seattle to develop our plans to visit these ports of call in 2013/14. We are also looking forward to developing ties and working with academic, research and commercial interests in the cities in the coming months.
September 2011
Greenheart attends GreenPort Congress and BAUM Conference in Hamburg, Germany.
July 2011
Gh adds several Ports-of-Call to the route of our maiden voyage: Hamburg, Germany, Cascadia(Vancouver/Seattle), Singapore, and Cape Town, South Africa.
June 2011
Efforts to donate our crane-rig technology to Tohoku tsunami disaster relief continue, and are featured on sustainableshipping.com.
(download pdf of article)
May 2011
Gh crew goes up to Tohoku to volunteer for disaster relief efforts and pitch Gh-rig-as-disaster-recovery-tool idea on the ground. Some pics from our volunteer efforts can be found here.
April 2011
We receive a battery bank and electric drive system schematic and offer from the Micro-vett electric vehicle company in Italy. We formulate an application for our Gh mast/crane in the conversion of fishing boats into work boats for use in the clean-up and reconstruction of the tsunami-devastated Tohoku region of Japan.
March 2011
Greenheart's lead architect, Kaku-san goes to Korea and meets with the Small Shipbuilding Institute who express interest in cooperation. We approve a summer internship for Mariana of Mexico and New York. Some of us attended the International PV and Battery Expo here in Tokyo, and the International Boat Show in Yokohama. German PV module maker Sovello begins talks to become Gh's first solar sponsor. Very inspiringfor us, of course. Lots of thanks for their confidence and cooperation.
February 2011
We reconsider and draw a new global route for s/v Greenheart's maiden voyage. Adding large clockwise loops in the N Atlantic and N Pacific will facilitate south/south trading and longer application testing periods.
Greenheart project manager Michele and family visit Japan for lots of meetings, parties, and face time.
December 2010
Greenheart inaugurates the Open Design Forum to publish our ship design details as they are approved, and to invite contributors to comment on, and improve the plans.
September 2010
We secure the services of Kaku Haruhiko, a naval architect based in Yokohama. He has begun to render an initial draft from the many concept drawings and application criteria documents.
August 2010
Our interns Hemlata Jaitawat and Roger Kim return to their colleges after months of service and good cheer.
July 2010
4th: A Greenheart / DMI meeting at Hobo Junction, MN, USA to discuss a US shipbuilding initiative, as well as plans for our South Asian operations.
June 2010
14th: Negotiations with South Asian shipbuilders begin as we proceed towards our first ship.
12th: A Greenheart Tokyo field trip to Miyagi for rice planting, mud construction, strategy meetings, and conviviality with our Commercial Director, Gavin Allwright and his family.
9th: Greenheart's two summer interns arrived at the Tokyo office.
8th: World Ocean Day.
May 2010
16th: Greenheart director gave keynote address to the business networking group, Yokohama Exchange Society at the Yokohama Country Club.
12th: Yet another European connection as a German solar panel manufacturer expresses interest in becoming a sponsor.
1st: Greenheart becomes a chartered NPO in Europe.
April 2010
12~14th: Finances and budgeting meeting at Ibaraki office.
21~23rd: Greenheart attended Sea Japan, an international shipping convention in Tokyo, and came away grateful for all the generous expert advice and support.
11th: Tokyo-Bologna video link to address Italian chapter's fundraiser. Grazie a tutti!
March 2010
28th: Inaugural meeting of Greenheart Italia in Bologna. Grazie a tutti!
13th: Eco Movie Night was held at our Tokyo office. Our gratitude to everyone present for an inspiring evening!
January 2010
16th: Haiti Earthquake Relief benefit event at Greenheart offices. 50,000Y raised for MSF in Haiti. We thank all the participants.
15th: We launched the Italian language Greenheart website!
December 2009
19th: Summit Finale: COP-15 report / dinner party video viewing of the feed from COP-15 and discussion session was held at our Tokyo office. We thank all the participants. It was very nice to see and have an engaging evening with inspiring people.
16th: Sail ship arrival and organic and Fair Trade products sale "Two boats from Greenpeace followed the newly built schooner Tres Hombres to berth in front of Amalienborg Palace. The ship arrived at sunset, and immediately attracted the first curious spectators. Cargo space is full of organic goods, which here for the first time are also transported in a sound and environmentally friendly manner."
12th: We put a good effort to support "Sign a Real Deal" Global Day of Action by tcktcktck.org
7th - 18th: Greenheart monitored this important event by organizing daily evening gatherings to follow the conference developments and to share our visions and objectives with the participants at these events. + Eco-movie nights.
November 2009
24th: Presentation at Green Mondays' November meet in Tokyo
10th: Launch of the new Greenheart website
Jambo International events.
October 2009
26th: 7-10pm, for GreenMondays
24th 350 Climate Action Party Yoyogi Park
1st: Greenheart's 2nd employee starts today. A welcome boost to Greenheart’s capacity to realize our goals in the coming months.
September 2009
25th: Earth Overshoot Day.
22nd: (at 6:57PM) Akira Kozak is born to happy parents and best wishes. 21st: THE GLOBAL WAKE-UP CALL: at more than 2600 events in 135 countries across the globe, we joined together to issue a deafening wake-up call to world leaders on climate change.
July 2009
20th: We got our .org domain back from "cyber squatters."
1st: It is a memorable day: Greenheart has got its first employee working all day (and sometimes night too) for our objectives.
June, 2009
4th: A beautiful baby girl named Romane was born to the family of Jeremy Marnham, our European Coordinator.
May 2009
25th: The Greenheart internship program has started: Hemlata Jaitawat, from India has come to Tokyo for two and a half months during her University's summer vacation. (If you are interested in the Greenheart Internship program write to michele.maurizzi[at]greenheartproject[dot]org) 
15th: The opening of the new Headquarters in Tokyo.
April 2009
28th: Our domain registration lapsed and was squatted by an 'agent' that represents a 'client'. It caused severe disruptions in our networking operations.
Spring, 2009
-- Greenheart received a generous donation from an individual donor (who wishes to remain anonymous) that allows us to engage a naval architecture firm to prepare a set of construction plans for the vessel. There is enough remaining after this expense to open a building fund for the first Greenheart ship. A ship under construction seems just over the horizon.
- Greenheart was invited to give a presentation at the alternative climate summit in Copenhagen in December. We began planning the launch of a new clean marine transport label, a 'Blue Sea Miles' designation that will allow consumers & business to support carbon-free ocean freight.
Winter, 2008/2009
- To formulate our objectives beyond our first ship, we composed a planning and organizational document that lays out in detail the techniques and strategies for achieving a world with a global fleet of Greenheart-class ships in a wide variety of applications. This master planning document led us to restructure the Project in ways that should make it much more effective around the world.
- We launched Greenheart's virtual office, which lets us collaborate over many time zones and facilitates internal communications, planning, and overall coordination. The public can access some of it at forum[dot]greenheartproject[eu]
Fall, 2008
- Greenheart was joined by two new volunteers who added important skills to our team. Michele Maurizzi is experienced in complex project management, and has already found many ways to improve our internal organization. 篠崎聡さん (Satoshi Shinozaki) came to us via the Dancing Monkey Institute, just when we needed an IT expert to upgrade our database, set up our internet-based office, and oversee the development of our new website.
