06 June 2018
The vessel has been commissioned by an existing owner and philanthropist who together with OceanX aim to further explore the secrets of the ocean together with director James Cameron and BBC’s Blue Planet.
“We are thrilled to be a part of such an exciting and unique project,” says Steve Gresham, founder and principal designer at Gresham Yacht Design. “These types of projects are rare to come by and we are honoured to have been commissioned by the owner to deliver a design that is extremely functional and robust, it is a true explorer vessel.”
OceanX will use Alucia2 as a next generation platform to discover 70 per cent of the planet that remains mostly unexplored and share this secret world through carefully executed media. The mission of the team is to “enable explorers and researchers to explore the unseen ocean, map uncharted areas of the world, observe rare deep-sea creatures, and pursue scientific and medical breakthroughs — and then bring all of these wonders back to the wider world,” reveals OceanX’s press team at the time of launch earlier this week.
To take on global expeditions, Alucia2 will be fitted with state-of-the-art marine research labs, cutting-edge media equipment, manned and autonomous deep-sea submersibles, helicopters and drones.
A media centre within the vessel will ensure superior film making capabilities, which have been developed in consultation with filmmaker and ocean explorer James Cameron.
“With OceanX and Alucia2, we will reignite global passion for and curiosity about the ocean in our global, digitally-connected age,” says James Cameron.
Alucia2 will be the result of a commercial vessel conversion, which has already begun a major refit with a delivery expected in early 2019. Once delivered, it will replace the owner’s existing vessel 55.7-metre Alucia, which is currently for sale.