AMAALA
4.11.2020 13:32:11 CET | Business Wire | Press release
AMAALA, the ultra-luxury destination located along Saudi Arabia’s north western coast, took to the seas with Monaco-based OceanoScientific on a two-week scientific expedition. The expedition was in line with AMAALA’s desire to measure and understand the impact of river water pollutants on human and sea life.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201104005308/en/
The expedition was undertaken with a two-fold objective to determine the nature and density of the chemical compounds that affect the marine environment. It also placed a wider focus on the impact of chemical contaminants on the ocean and human health, and validates the applicability of the expedition’s sampling method, using a cost-effective research alternative with a zero-carbon emission vessel.
Over the course of two weeks, the crew collected water samples from various points within a triangle of 1,500 nautical miles in the western Mediterranean.
These samples were handed over to the Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (Ifremer) by the crew and AMAALA Chief Executive Officer Nicholas Naples and Chief Sustainability Officer Brendan Jack at the last port of call in La Seyne-sur-Mer, France. The scientists at the Ifremer, who advised on the scientific aspects of the undertaking, will now quantify and analyse the concentration of metals and elements such as cadmium, lead, nickel and mercury, all of which can alter the composition of the sea and affect the marine food chain.
The expedition and the results unearthed as part of its study will inform AMAALA’s own conservation efforts. The Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea are neighbouring seas and part of one global ocean system where changes in one, create ripples in the other. With its vibrant coral gardens and rich underwater life, the Red Sea coast at AMAALA has a thriving ecosystem that the destination aims to preserve and nurture. To this end, it has forged partnerships with global marine conservation entities, including the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, the Centre Scientifique de Monaco, and the Oceanographic Institute.
Commenting on the expedition, AMAALA Chief Executive Officer Nicholas Naples, said “We are proud to sponsor the OceanoScientific Expedition – it perfectly aligns with our goal to create a luxury destination that is a global leader in sustainable tourism. Being part of expeditions and studies like this, arms us with the deeper insight and scientific knowledge required to preserve and protect our local ecosystem, especially the Red Sea coral reefs. This expedition also illustrates our vision of creating experiences that brings diverse interests and cultures together.”
Yvan Griboval, circumnavigator explorer and member of the Yacht Club de Monaco, who led the expedition said, “While almost everyone has realised that plastic pollution is an appalling scourge on the ocean, we want to show that chemical contaminants - metallic and organic - that pollute the sea and poison the phytoplankton and plankton at the start of the food chain, are found in our dinner plates at the other end of the chain of life.”
The expedition was conducted on the specially commissioned AMAALA Explorer, a former record-breaking 110-foot racing maxi-catamaran that was converted into a scientific research ship with zero carbon emissions. It functioned as the expedition’s lodging and lab.
HSH Prince Albert II of Monaco on 15 October 2020 was on hand to bid the crew farewell from the marina of the Yacht Club de Monaco. The AMAALA Explorer made port calls in Porto Cervo, Italy; Barcelona, Spain; and La Seyne-sur-Mer, France where water samples were handed over to scientists, before returning to Monaco.
The vessel and expedition were skippered by Yvan Griboval, who worked with a team of scientists specialised in the study of organic contaminants, including an onboard Swedish marine scientist Linn Sekund and AMAALA Director of Sports Marc Archer.
A short documentary film about the expedition, in English and French, will be distributed in 2021, along with scientific results in late 2021 and scientific publication in late 2023.
*Source: AETOSWire
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20201104005308/en/
Link:
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Leo Cancer Care Raises $65M Series D to Scale Its Integrated Upright Cancer Care Platform8.7.2026 14:30:00 CEST | Press release
Oversubscribed round follows the world-first compact upright proton treatment at Stanford Medicine — funding a single upright platform that will span imaging and treatment across multiple radiation modalities. Leo Cancer Care, the medical technology company working to reinvent how patients are imaged and treated by designing systems around the body’s natural upright position, today announced the close of an oversubscribed $65 million Series D financing. The round was led by Silicon Valley’s Yu Galaxy and welcomes new investors including Eventide Asset Management, alongside continued support from the company’s existing investors. Leading cancer institutions are already adopting the upright approach. Stanford Medicine delivered the world’s first compact upright proton therapy treatment on 4 June 2026. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and McLaren Health Care are among the institutions bringing the upright platform into their programmes — adoption that spans world-leading academic centers and
LUMI AI Factory Selects IQM to Deploy Advanced Quantum Computer, Accelerating Hybrid HPC and AI Development8.7.2026 14:00:00 CEST | Press release
The Halocene H4 quantum computer, named LUMI-IQ, will be delivered and installed in 2027 The system will be hosted at CSC – IT Center for Science in Finland and integrated into the LUMI AI Factory The system will provide researchers, industry innovators, and developers across Europe with a unique, advanced experimental platform where quantum computing and artificial intelligence converge The LUMI AI Factory, led by CSC – IT Center for Science, has selected IQM Quantum Computers (Nasdaq: IQMX) to deliver IQM Halocene H4, an advanced quantum computer aimed at accelerating hybrid high-performance computing, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing capabilities. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260708006791/en/ LUMI AI Factory selects IQM to deploy advanced quantum computer, accelerating hybrid HPC and AI development IQM Halocene H4 is the first and most advanced on-premises superconducting quantum computer o
Merck Announces FDA Breakthrough Therapy Designation for Enpatoran in Lupus Patients With Active Skin Manifestations8.7.2026 14:00:00 CEST | Press release
Enpatoran could address a significant unmet need in lupus, specifically targeting cutaneous manifestations of the disease, which currently have no approved therapiesFDA's decision was supported by Phase 2 WILLOW study results, which demonstrated meaningful symptoms improvement, particularly among patients with active cutaneous manifestationsEnpatoran's potential to go beyond current treatment standards in lupus prompted FDA´s breakthrough designation, which is designed to expedite drug development and reviewNot intended for Canada-, UK- or US-based media Merck, a leading science and technology company, today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted Breakthrough Therapy designation to enpatoran for the treatment of lupus with active cutaneous manifestations. Enpatoran is an oral selective toll-like receptor (TLR) 7/8 inhibitor, designed to modulate pathways central to lupus-related inflammation. “For the 85% of lupus patients whose disease includes skin manif
Fastly Joins DIMPACT to Collaborate on Digital Sustainability8.7.2026 14:00:00 CEST | Press release
Fastly Brings Leading Cloud Edge Expertise to Help DIMPACT Members Understand and Optimize Digital Carbon Footprints Fastly, Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLY), a leading global edge cloud platform, today announced it has become a participant of DIMPACT, the coalition of leading organizations working to align industry changemakers and policymakers around meaningful, science-based solutions that reduce the environmental impacts of serving digital media products. As the first edge cloud platform provider to join the coalition, Fastly brings critical, real-world edge network data and infrastructure expertise and a transparent approach to emissions calculation and reporting to help major media, streaming, and publishing companies understand and optimize their digital carbon footprints. “We’re thrilled to welcome Fastly to the DIMPACT initiative. Their participation strengthens DIMPACT's ability to advance a more accurate, data-driven approach to measuring and reducing digital emissions,” said Jason Bell,
PubNub Introduces Blocks.ai: The Control Plane and Network Layer For AI Agents8.7.2026 14:00:00 CEST | Press release
Connect and control agents from everywhere, across any network and device, on the Blocks Network. PubNub introduces Blocks.ai today, a global network to connect and control agents across all agent frameworks, providers, and APIs. Blocks.ai lets developers reach their existing AI agents regardless of where they are hosted. Blocks Network supports all AI agent use cases without opening inbound ports, setting up tunnels, changing DNS, or modifying firewall rules. For more than a decade, PubNub has been the infrastructure and platform for real-time connectivity supporting billions of devices, now, PubNub delivers Blocks Network connecting the Internet of Agents. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260708521206/en/ AI agents have become increasingly critical to businesses who want control over their models, code, and data. But once those agents are running locally or behind a firewall, making them reachable from custom
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom