DESCRIPTION The present invention relates to a vessel for cleaning the ocean from pollution such as oil, plastic waste or the like and a method for collecting pollution from the ocean.

Pollution in ocean waters is an environmental problem, which is internationally known. As an example of such pollution, it is recently estimated that more than eight million tons of plastic waste material is going into the ocean each year. Plastic waste tends to accumulate in particular in specific areas via sea drift vortexes and lead to a consider- able amount of plastic waste in these regions.

The plastic waste in the oceans is typically continuously crushed or degraded into smaller particles by wave motion, with a large amount of these smaller particles being in the range of 3-6 mm in diameter and hereafter being eaten by sea animals such as fish which confuses the plastic waste with food.

Even the finer plastic particles are eaten by plankton, which is eaten by fish and these even smaller plastic particles in the end accumulate in fish. In this way, the global plastic waste in the oceans ends up in the food intended for human consumption.

Even though a large amount of the waste is accumulated in so called“plastic islands” in specific areas of the sea, also“cleaner” waters, such as the waters around the Svalbard islands is highly effected by the dumping of plastic waste.

From the prior art, numerous ships and floating vessels have been designed for collect- ing waste materials from the oceans, such waste material as an example being plastic debris or oil pollution.

However, many of these ships or vessels are constructed with the only purpose of clean- ing the waters and these ships or vessels are not suitable for traveling long distances or in rough waters.

158748/BJ/JS/MT - Filing date: 10 April 2019 With the known types of ships and vessels, it has proven difficult and expensive to ef- fectively remove large amounts of plastic debris, or contaminants, floating in the ocean over great distances.

An example of ocean cleaning vessels is disclosed in W02006061453, which is incor- porated in the present disclosure by reference. The reference describes a vessel and method for the specific purpose of collecting oil from water, by passing the oil on the water surface into a large space within the vessel, where the wave surge is damped enough to allow the oil on the water surface to be effectively collected. Inside the large space, a device for collecting oil from the surface of water is disposed. The vessel de- scribed in W02006061453 is used for the cleaning purpose only and only removes the oil which flows into the larger space within the hull.

A different example is given in WO2012123873, which describes a vessel for removing petroleum from the water surface. The vessel comprises a large guide system disposed alongside the hull of the ship and at approx the entire length of the hull. The guide is kept at the water surface, and together with the hull creates a guiding channel alongside the hull and towards a conveying surface for removing the petroleum from the water. The entire system described in WO2012123873 is bulky and is not suitable for being stored inside the hull of the ship in a retracted position. Thus, the vessel described is not suitable for travelling long distances and to be used for different purposes than water cleaning.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a vessel, which is suitable for removing large amounts of waste material, or contaminants, floating in the ocean over great dis- tances.

The above object and advantages together with numerous other objects and ad- vantages, which will be evident from the description of the present invention, are ac- cording to a first aspect of the present invention obtained by:

A vessel for cleaning the ocean from waste material, said vessel comprising:

a hull extending between a bow and stern, and defining a port side and a star- board side,

a waste collecting system for collecting said waste material from said ocean, and

158748/BJ/JS/MT - Filing date: 10 April 2019 a system support for supporting said waste collection system, said system sup- port being attached to said vessel, said waste collection system including:

a conveyor assembly having a first conveyer for conveying said waste material from said ocean onto said vessel,

a conveyor frame supporting said first conveyor, said conveyor frame being piv- otally joined to said system support for pivoting said waste collecting system between a retracted state and an extended state,

said waste collecting system being inside said hull when said waste collecting system being in said retracted state, and

said waste collecting system being outside said hull when said waste collecting system being in said extended state during cleaning of said ocean from waste mate- rial.

When the waste collecting system is in a retracted state, the waste collecting system is placed inside the hull, meaning the waste collecting system being placed between the portside and the starboard side of the ship. In the retracted state, the waste collecting system can thus be positioned above a plane of the surface deck or below a plane of the surface deck.

Preferably, the optimal speed of the vessel for cleaning the ocean surface is approxi- mate 2,5-5 knots. The speed could be less or higher, however, at lower speeds the covered area gets smaller, and at higher speeds the forces of the water towards the waste collecting system gets higher and increases the fuel consumption of the vessel.

The width of the waste collecting system preferably ranges from 1-4 meters, however, the width may alternative range between 0.5-1 meters or from 4-6 meters. In a preferred embodiment the waste collecting system has a width of 3 meters.

When the vessel is collecting waste using a waste collecting system at both sides of the hull, the total covered width is equal to the breadth of the ship and the width of the two waste collecting systems. In an example with a vessel travelling at 4 knots having a breadth of 20 meters and a waste collecting system on both sides of the hull having a width of 3 meters, the total covered width is 26 meters which results in a cleaned area of approx. 0,2 km ² each sailing hour. The above-mentioned effect of the waste collection

158748/BJ/JS/MT - Filing date: 10 April 2019 system is an estimated approximate average value and will vary depending on the sea current.

The waste material being collected is stored inside the hull in large storage tanks. At docking, the storage tanks can be lifted out of the vessel and emptied or in an alternative embodiment, the waste material may be conveyed out of the vessel with a suitable con- veyer.

According to a further embodiment of the first aspect, the first conveyor having a water end, and a pulley end opposite the water end.

The pulley end has a pulley drive system powered by a motor for driving the conveyer. The motor may be pneumatic, electric, hydraulic or manual.

According to a further embodiment of the first aspect, the water end of the first con- veyor being below the waterline when the waste collecting system being in the ex tended state.

When the waste collecting system is in an extended state and collects waste material from the ocean surface, the conveyer conveys at a specific speed specified in relation to the travelling speed and/or the amount of waste material. If the amount of waste material encountering the conveyer increases, the conveying speed increases like- wise.

According to a further embodiment of the first aspect, the first conveyor includes a belt having holes for passing water through the holes and for filtering the waste material from the ocean.

Preferably, the conveyer has a belt conveyer having a width slightly smaller that the width of the waste collecting system enabling the conveyer to be supported inside the conveyer frame. The belt is having a number of holes for filtering the waste material and for passing water through the holes. It is understood that the holes can have a va- riety of configurations; the amount of holes and the size of the holes suitable for differ- ent types or sizes of waste material. On the vessel, the belt of the conveyer may be in- terchanged with another belt having a different configuration suitable for a different type or size of waste. The belt may be manufactured from any suitable material such

158748/BJ/JS/MT - Filing date: 10 April 2019 as a large rubber band having holes, or as a woven mesh-like band woven from any suitable material e.g. nylon.

Alternatively, the waste collecting system may comprise different types of sensors, e.g. for sensing the amount of waste encountering the conveyer or any encountering of sea animals such as fish.

According to a further embodiment of the first aspect, the vessel comprising a sea- water channel for leading seawater through the vessel, the hull having a first opening constituting an inlet into the seawater channel, and a second opening constituting an outlet from the seawater channel.

According to a further embodiment of the first aspect, the conveyor assembly compris- ing a funnel, the funnel having a funnel mouth, and a funnel sidewall extending be- tween a bottom and a top for funnelling the seawater into the seawater channel via the inlet.

According to a further embodiment of the first aspect, the bottom of the funnel sidewall being below the waterline when the funnel system being in the extended state.

According to a further embodiment of the first aspect, the vessel comprising a filter in the seawater channel for filtering the waste material from the seawater.

Inside the seawater channel, at a position in the flowing direction after the filter a tur- bine may be employed for generating electric power from the through flowing water.

According to a further embodiment of the first aspect, the conveyor assembly compris- ing a trawl and a winch, said trawl being attached to said winch for winching said trawl in and out of said ocean.

The trawl is a net similar to trawl nets used for fishing and is being dragged by the ves- sel for collecting waste material. The trawl is a cone-shaped net having a“mouth” end and a closed“tail” end, where a vertical opening of the“mouth” end of the trawl is cre- ated by using flotation on an upper edge ("floatline") and a weight on the lower edge of the net“mouth”. The trawl having a mesh, which can vary in material, overall size and mesh size, depending on the type of waste material being collected.

158748/BJ/JS/MT - Filing date: 10 April 2019 According to a further embodiment of the first aspect, the hull having a length of more than 50 m.

A preferred length of the vessel is more than 50 meters. Larger vessels have a longer reach, larger storage capacity and may be used for secondary purposes other than cleaning the ocean surface. An example of a suitable vessel could be a vessel type as the ship“Saeborg” by Skansi Offshore™ manufactured by Havyard™.

According to a further embodiment of the first aspect, the vessel comprising a bracket attached to the hull for locking the conveyor frame to the hull in the extended state.

When the waste collecting system is being deployed in an extended state partly within the ocean, it is preferred to lock the waste collecting system especially against forces from water and ice in a direction parallel with the sailing direction. Especially floating ice has a major force impact on the system and a suitable bracket e.g. of steel may be used. The bracket being attached at the hull, preferably below the waterline outboard, engages the frame with the waste collecting system and locks the system against any movement parallel to the sailing direction.

According to a further embodiment of the first aspect, the conveyer assembly compris- ing a second conveyor for collecting the waste material from the first conveyer, and a second conveyor support for supporting the second conveyor, the second conveyor support being attached to the vessel.

The waste collecting system is arranged with a second conveyer being transvers the first conveyer and in continuation thereof. Hereby, waste material encountered by the first conveyer and transported out of the ocean, falls onto the second conveyer and may therefrom be conveyed to the storage tank.

According to a further embodiment of the first aspect, the waste collection system be- ing at the port side.

Having a waste collecting system at both sides increases the cleaning efficiency with 100 %.

158748/BJ/JS/MT - Filing date: 10 April 2019 According to a second aspect of the present invention the above objects and ad- vantages are obtained by:

A method of collecting waste material in an ocean, the method comprising:

providing a vessel, the vessel including:

a hull extending between a bow and stern, and defining a port side and a star- board side,

a waste collecting system for collecting the waste material from the ocean, and

a system support for supporting the waste collecting system, the system support being attached to the vessel, the waste collecting system including:

a conveyor assembly having a first conveyer for conveying the waste material from the ocean onto the vessel, and

a conveyor frame supporting the first conveyor, the conveyor frame being pivot- ally joined to the system support for pivoting the waste collecting system between a re- tracted state, and an extended state,

the waste collecting system being inside the hull when the waste collecting sys- tem being in the retracted state, and

the waste collecting system being outside the hull when the waste collecting sys- tem being in the extended state during cleaning of the ocean of waste material, the method further comprising:

pivoting the waste collecting system to the extended position, and

conveying the waste material from the ocean onto the vessel by means of the conveyor assembly during cleaning of the ocean from waste material.

The invention will now be explained in more detail below by means of examples of em- bodiments with reference to the very schematic drawing, in which

Fig. 1A shows a perspective view of a vessel having a waste collecting system.

Fig. 1 B shows a blow-up of the waste collecting system illustrated in fig. 1 A.

158748/BJ/JS/MT - Filing date: 10 April 2019 Fig. 2A shows a perspective view of the waste collecting system in a retracted posi- tion.

Fig. 2B shows a perspective view of the waste collecting system in a partly extended position.

Fig 2C shows a perspective view of the waste collecting system in an extended posi- tion.

Fig. 2D shows a perspective view of the waste collecting system in an extended posi- tion and collecting waste material.

Fig. 3A shows a perspective view of a vessel having a second embodiment of the waste collecting system in a retracted position.

Fig. 3B shows a perspective view of a vessel having a second embodiment of the waste collecting system in an extended position.

Fig. 3C shows a perspective view of a vessel having a second embodiment of the waste collecting system in an extended position and collecting waste material.

The present invention will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which exemplary embodiments of the invention are shown. The invention may, however, be embodied in different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. Like elements will, thus, not be described in detail with respect to the description of each figure.

Fig. 1A shows a perspective view of a vessel 10 having a waste collecting system 16, 16’.

The vessel 10 comprises a waste collecting system on both the starboard side and the port side, however, for the sake of simplicity in the forthgoing description of the figures,

158748/BJ/JS/MT - Filing date: 10 April 2019 only the waste collecting system 16 arranged on the starboard side of the vessel is de- scribed.

The vessel 10 described is a ship of a similar type as the ship“Saeborg” by Skansi Offshore™ manufactured by Havyard™. However, any type of vessel suitable for the installation of a waste collection system according to the invention may be used.

The vessel 10 is illustrated having a bridge 14’ functioning as a platform for controlling the movement of the vessel 10, a hull 14 and a working area 14” at the rear of the ves- sel. The vessel 10 comprises a waste collecting system 16 at the starboard side and a waste collecting system 16’ at the port side. The waste collection systems 16, 16’ are illustrated in a retracted position and in a non-collecting mode.

Fig. 1 B shows a blow-up of the waste collecting system illustrated in fig. 1 A. Fig. 2A is similar to fig. 1 B and illustrates the waste collecting system 16 without an upper part of the hull 14.

The hull 14 of the vessel comprises an opening 44 for allowing the waste collecting system 16 to be stored inside the hull 14 when no collecting of waste is being per- formed e.g. when the ship is in an area with no particular waste material or if the ship is going with a traveling speed exceeding an optimal speed for collecting waste mate- rial and allowing the waste collection system 16 to be moved from the stored and re- tracted position inside the hull 14 to an extended position and deployed in the ocean 12 outside the hull 14.

The waste collecting system 16 comprises a frame 18 for supporting a first conveyer 20.

The first conveyer 20 being illustrated as a belt conveyer comprises a first end func- tioning as a water end 38 when the waste collecting system 16 is in a deployed and extended position, and a pulley end 28 opposite the water end 38 having a motor (not shown) for driving the belt conveyer. The first conveyer 20 has a conveying direction parallel with the side of the vessel 10.

The frame 18 is constructed as a cage, supporting the first conveyer 20 inside the frame 18 at an angle relative to the water surface, preferably at an angle between 20- 70 degrees.

158748/BJ/JS/MT - Filing date: 10 April 2019 The frame 18 has a substantially cubical shape and is constructed from steel profiles having a size and thickness suitable to withstand the impact from floating ice. Further, the frame 18 is pivotally joined to the vessel 10 via system support 24.

As further illustrated in fig. 1 B, the waste collecting system 16 comprises a second conveyer 22 and illustrated as a belt conveyer.

The second conveyer 22 is arranged in a horizontal plane inside the hull 14 and is adapted for being displaced in a horizontal direction via a support system (not shown) from inside the hull 14 to a position partly outside the hull 14 and having a conveying direction substantially perpendicular to the conveying direction of the first conveyer 20.

Fig. 2B shows a perspective view of the waste collecting system 16 in an extended po- sition where the frame 18 and water end 38 of the first conveyer 20 partly extends into the ocean 12. The frame 18 is pivoted via the system support 24 in the direction of the arrow from the extracted position to the extended position. Hereby the water end 38 of the first conveyer 20 is partly submerged into the ocean 12 and has a conveying direc- tion parallel to the side of the vessel.

The first conveyer 20 is angled such that the water end 38 is in the ocean 12 and the first conveyer 20 extends upwards and towards the bow of the vessel 10. From fig. 2B it is evident that the first conveyer 20 is protected by the frame 18 from being damaged by the impact of e.g. floating ice, when the vessel is in icy waters.

The second conveyer 22 is in fig. 2B illustrated in a retracted position as also de- scribed in relation to fig. 2A

Fig. 2C shows a perspective view of the waste collecting system in an extended posi- tion where the frame 18 and water end 38 of the first conveyer 20 partly extends into the ocean.

The description of the frame 18 and first conveyer 20 complies with the description in relation to fig. 2B. Further, fig. 2C shows the second conveyer 22 in an extended posi- tion, being conveyed from an extracted position into the extended position indicated by the arrow.

158748/BJ/JS/MT - Filing date: 10 April 2019 The second conveyer 22 has a second pulley end 30 having a motor (not shown) for driving the second conveyer 22 and an opposite end arranged outside the hull 14 in the extended position.

The opposite end of the second conveyer 22 is arranged in close proximity of the first pulley end 28 of first conveyer 20 and in a direction towards the bow of the vessel 10 in relation to the frame 18 and the first conveyer 20.

Fig. 2D shows a perspective view of the waste collecting system 16 in an extended po- sition and in a mode collecting waste material 32.

The frame 18, the first conveyer 20 and the second conveyer 22 is arranged as de- scribes and illustrated in relation to fig. 2C. In fig. 2D, the waste collecting system is il- lustrated in an operating mode collecting waste material 32 floating on or below the water surface.

As the vessel moves in a forward direction, preferable at a speed of 2-5 knots, the waste material 32 enters a front end of the frame and encounters the first conveyer 20. The first conveyer 20 is driven by a motor (not shown) at the first pulley end 28 in a first conveying direction 34 and conveys the waste material 32 out of the ocean 12 and in a direction towards the second conveyer 22.

An upper surface of the second conveyer 22 is arranged just below the first pulley end 28 of the first conveyer 20. The motor (not shown) of the second pulley end 30 drives the second conveyer in a second conveying direction 36, and the waste material being transported out of the ocean 12 by the first conveyer 20 and towards the second con- veyer falls from the first pulley end 28 of the first conveyer 20 onto the upper surface of the second conveyer 22 and is conveyed in the second conveying direction 36 towards the vessel 10 inside the hull 14 and dropped into a waste receptacle 26.

For simple illustration, the waste receptacle 26 is illustrated as a square box being rel atively small compared to the waste collection system 16. However, the waste recep- tacle is to be understood as a large capacity storage tank placed inside the hull and preferable below a deck of the vessel.

158748/BJ/JS/MT - Filing date: 10 April 2019 A suitable storage tank could range from approximate 145 m ³ to 20 m ³ . Alternative the storage tank could range from 10 m ³ to 145 m ³ or even being larger than 2400 m ³ .

Fig. 3A shows a perspective view of a vessel 10 having a second embodiment of the waste collecting system 16 in a retracted position.

The hull 14 of the vessel 10 is arranged similarly as described in relation to fig. 1A and fig. 1 B. The waste collecting system 16 is in a retracted position and stored inside the hull 14.

The vessel 10 comprises a seawater channel (not shown) for leading seawater through the vessel 10. The side of the hull 14 has a seawater inlet 40 into the channel and the bow of the hull 14 has a seawater outlet (not shown) from the channel.

The waste collecting system 16 comprises a conveyer shaped as a funnel 42.

The conveyer shaped as a funnel 42 has a funnel mouth, and a funnel sidewall ex- tending between a bottom and a top, for funnelling said seawater into said seawater channel via the seawater inlet 40.

As illustrated in fig. 3A, a sidewall of the funnel shaped conveyer has an opening, which when the waste collecting system 16 is deployed in an extended state corre- sponds to the seawater inlet 40 in the hull 14.

Fig. 3B shows a perspective view of a vessel 10 having a second embodiment of the waste collecting system 16 in an extended position. The waste collecting system 16 is being deployed into an extended state as indicated by the arrow.

Fig. 3C shows a perspective view of a vessel 10 having a second embodiment of the waste collecting system in an extended position and collecting waste material.

As the vessel travels forward, the waste material 32 moves towards and into the funnel 42, through the seawater channel (not shown) inside the hull 14 where a filter (not shown) is arranged for filtering the waste material 32 from the water. After filtering, the water flows out of a seawater outlet (not shown) at the bow of the vessel 10.

158748/BJ/JS/MT - Filing date: 10 April 2019 In the following is given a list of reference signs that are used in the detailed descrip- tion of the invention and the drawings referred to in the detailed description of the in- vention.

10. Vessel

12. Ocean

14. Hull

14’. Bridge

14”. Rear working area

16. Waste collecting system

16’. Port side waste collecting system

18. Conveyer frame

20. First conveyer

22. Second conveyer

24. System support

26. Waste receptacle

28. First conveyer pulley

30. Second conveyer pulley

32. Waste material

34. First conveying direction

36. Second conveying direction

38. Water end

40. Sea water inlet

42. Funnel

44. Hull opening

158748/BJ/JS/MT - Filing date: 10 April 2019