First floating mega island tested in Netherlands

The Maritime Research Institute of Netherlands (MARIN) announced that it tested an innovative concept for a floating mega island, to ensure working space at sea. The island comprises 87 large floating triangles that are flexibility connected to one another and, together, they form a flexible floating island that can be as large as 1 to 5 km in cross-section.

Olaf Waals, project manager and the concept developer: “As sea level rises, cities become overcrowded and more activities are carried out at sea, raising the dikes and reclaiming land from the seas are perhaps no longer an effective solution. An innovative alternative that fits with the Dutch maritime tradition is floating ports and cities.”

Specifically, the floating mega islands offer future-proof living and working space at sea for:

• Developing, generating, storing, and maintaining sustainable energy (offshore wind, tidal energy, wave energy and floating solar panels)
• Loading and transhipping cargo in coastal areas where there is little infrastructure
• Cultivating food, such as seaweed and fish
• Building houses and recreation close to the water

These types of solutions are part of the Blue Future, in which the seas and oceans (70% of the earth’s surface area) are used sustainably.

MARIN’s testing includes major technological, as well as ecological challenges, as it aims to address how to develop a structure strong and safe enough to withstand winds and currents, how to organise traffic and transport and what the effect would be on marine environment.