That was the question we asked ourselves from the start. We would find the answer in the cold Southern Ocean. Skarsvaag already built workboats in HDPE, but from virgin plastic. In conversations with AION, we learned that the ropes on Aker QRILL Company’s krill trawlers are made of HDPE, and consequently could be reused in this vessel.

The process of transforming this discarded material to a viable material for harsh conditions was complex with several actors involved. AION took care of material science, logistics and sourcing of production partners. Our role was to connect the dots between an existing waste stream, the client and the boatbuilder.

As a daughter craft, the Beachlander should stand on its own, yet clearly belong to the mothership. Transferring the design language across scale and material was a challenge, we let the material’s limits guide us and chose the details that mattered most. The glass wheelhouse takes its cue from the utilitarian bridge of REV Ocean, and seen from above, it traces the same angular outline as the mothership’s decks. The angled transition from REV Ocean’s aft sections runs along the Beachlander’s hull sides and returns in the fender and the staircase.

Like the material it is made from, the Beachlander is strict, structural and honest.

The Beachlander is also a testbed. In daily use, it will show whether recycled HDPE can replace the more commonly used materials. If it can, the gain is considerable. Kilo for kilo, recycled HDPE has a carbon footprint around 98% lower than primary aluminium, the material in the original brief, and about a sixth of that of virgin HDPE. When its working life is over, the material can be recycled again.