Conservation at Sea: Our Partnership with THE INTERNATIONAL SeaKeepers SOCIETY

We are proud to announce as we sail around the world, we’re not just sailing the world’s oceans, we’re actively doing our part to help protect them.

We’ve partnered with The International SeaKeepers Society to participate in global ocean conservation through hands-on citizen science. SeaKeepers connects the yachting and expedition community with leading scientists and marine researchers, transforming private vessels into platforms for oceanographic research, education, and conservation.

We want to inspire a generation to love the sea and to protect the life that dwells within it.

Sailing as an INTERNATIONAL SeaKeepers SOCIETY DISCOVERY Vessel

We’re proud to have Salome as part of The International SeaKeepers Society’s DISCOVERY Fleet, a global network of vessels advancing hands-on marine science, education, and conservation.

Through this partnership, Salome serves as a platform for meaningful scientific contributions. She collects data, supports research, and helps connect people around the world to the importance of ocean health. As part of our collaboration with SeaKeepers, we’ve committed to the following two key initiatives to support global conservation and scientific discovery.

Studying the Ocean’s Surface with the Neuston Net Research Collective

Neuston ecosystems, made up of plankton, larvae, algae, and other tiny surface dwellers, are some of the most fragile and vital communities in the ocean. These organisms form the base of the marine food chain and live in the ocean’s top few centimeters, where pollution, UV radiation, and rising temperatures have the greatest impact.

Through the Neuston Net Research Collective, we will regularly deploy a specially designed Neuston Net throughout our global expedition to collect samples from the ocean’s surface. These samples will be analyzed by scientists, including Dr. Rebecca Helm of Georgetown University, to better understand biodiversity, plastic pollution, and ecosystem health.

This data also helps inform large-scale ocean cleanup operations. By identifying zones where neustonic life is most abundant, scientists can help groups like The Ocean Cleanup avoid unintentionally damaging ecosystems during plastic removal. In under-studied and remote regions, data like this helps researchers balance environmental cleanup with ecosystem protection.

Neuston sampling also plays a key role in understanding how pollution travels through marine systems, how surface life responds to climate change, and how we can build smarter, more sustainable ocean policies.

Mapping the Ocean Floor with Seabed 2030

Over 80% of the world’s ocean floor remains unmapped to modern standards.

The Seabed 2030 Project is a global collaboration led by The Nippon Foundation and GEBCO (General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans), aiming to create a complete, high-resolution map of the entire ocean floor by the year 2030. This data will be made freely available to support marine science, conservation, climate research, sustainable development, and navigation safety.

Through our partnership with SeaKeepers, we’ll gather bathymetric data using sonar-based instruments integrated into our navigation system. As we sail, we'll record real-time depth measurements, especially in remote or poorly charted regions, and contribute them directly to Seabed 2030’s growing global database.

This data helps protect marine habitats, identify biodiversity hotspots, improve maritime safety, and provide scientists with baseline knowledge to track the effects of climate change over time.

“Getting to know the ocean is the greatest mapping adventure of our times.Many
underwater mountain ranges, volcanoes, canyons have yet to be discovered and named.”

- Dr. Mathias Jonas, IHO Secretary-General

Real Science. Real Adventure. Real Impact.

Our partnership with The International SeaKeepers Society turns this expedition into more than a platform for Down syndrome awareness. It transforms Salome into a moving research vessel that contributes to real science, supports global ocean conservation, and inspires students around the world to care about the planet they are inheriting.

By collecting real-world data from some of the most remote and under-studied parts of the ocean, we are helping advance critical research while giving the next generation a front-row seat to what responsible exploration looks like.

We are proud to support SeaKeepers and be part of a global effort to protect what matters. Awareness and action belong together.

Learn More About SeaKeepers

The International SeaKeepers Society works with scientists, educators, and ocean advocates around the world, using private yachts and expedition vessels as platforms to advance marine science in places traditional research ships can’t reach. From deploying autonomous monitoring systems to supporting major conservation breakthroughs, their work is shaping the future of our oceans.

We’re proud to sail alongside them.

To learn more about SeaKeepers’ mission and the global projects they support, visit SeaKeepers.org.