Innocents Aboard Set a Course for Adventure
The parade of oceangoing vessels that weekly pass by Lower Manhattan windows can give rise to a certain jaded ennui: Cruise ships compete to boast about how many thousands of passengers they pack into a hull that is how many football fields long and contains how many iMax theaters, casinos, and water slides, etc. But occasionally an outlier plies its way up the Hudson. This is the case with the Peace Boat, a vessel operated by a Japan-based nonprofit that aims to promote peace, human rights, and sustainability, among other missions such as delivering 12,000 soccer balls to impoverished kids in 43 countries since 1999 and campaigning to abolish landmines.
The Peace Boat (now scheduled to pass by Lower Manhattan on Wednesday afternoon as she makes her way to the Manhattan Cruise Terminal for an overnight stay; click here to see her current position at marinetraffic.com) has just left Reykjavik, Iceland, and is currently completing her 118th global voyage, visiting 22 ports around the world. The current sojourn, which began in August, next heads to Panama, Peru, Easter Island (Chile), Tahiti, and Samoa, before wrapping up in Japan on December 1.
Since the group was first organized in 1983, there have been seven Peace Boats. The vessel now serving as flag ship is Pacific World, a 77,000-ton, 857-foot cruise ship that launched in 1995. (This ship briefly served as the shooting location for the late-1990s reboot of the “Love Boat” television series) Although Pacific World is the most recent in a succession of Peace Boat cruise ships, it won’t be the last. The organization is now raising funds to launch its first custom-built vessel, the Ecoship, preliminary designs for which call for a hull inspired by the shape of a whale, along with environmentally friendly features like ten retractable solar-panel sails and wind generators, as well as a hybrid diesel/liquid natural gas-fueled engine.
During her 24 hours in New York, the vessel will host Climate Camp: Peace Boat, a half-day summit that brings together innovators, investors, United Nations delegates, public sector partners, artists, advocates, and policymakers to discuss the convergence of climate and the issues with which it intersects.
Part of Peace Boat’s vocation is to solicit and deliver donated materials where they are needed most. The organization is currently asking for musical instruments, school supplies, sports equipment, and kitchen wares (to be dropped off in Peru), as well as fabrics and garment-making tools (which will find a home in Panama). Toys will also be given away at several South Pacific ports of call in time for Christmas. (One caveat: Please don’t show up at the dock in Manhattan with contributions. Instead, email info@peaceboat.gr.jp about how to support this and future voyages.)
In addition to transporting volunteers around the world, Peace Boat also provides educational opportunities through its Global University peace program.