Arksen brings new wave of innovation to the marine industry
by Arksen 20 Jan 2019 22:52 PST
Today Arksen - a technology and innovation company building the most authentic, capable and efficient explorer vessels of their kind - officially launched at boot Düsseldorf, with a product and ethos driving a new wave of innovation within the industry.
Arksen is the brainchild of tech entrepreneur and investor Jasper Smith, who brings knowledge from a career spanning 30 years in the games and tech industry, including companies such as PlayJam, Fantastic Corp, Vala Capital, Optimistic, PlayStack and PlayWorks. Smith has recognised the opportunity within the marine sector and, with the creation of Arksen, is looking to provide a positive impact through technology, research, exploration and adventure.
Smith said: "We set out to create a great company; one that could have a profound impact on the lives of the owners of our vessels and that could actively contribute to a better understanding of the oceans. By building offshore vessels that are designed to withstand the harshest ocean conditions and that incorporate autonomy, hybrid propulsion and 'always on' critical systems monitoring, we are at the forefront of a revolution, pioneering technologies that will become the foundation of the future marine industry."
Arksen comprises three key elements that make up the essence of the brand; the Arksen Series - Arksen 70, Arksen 85 and Arksen 100, the Arksen Foundation and the Arksen Explorers' Club.
Behind Arksen is an exceptional team from across the marine, aviation and technology sectors, as well as a number of world-class partners including Humphreys Yacht Design, Wight Shipyard Company, Design Unlimited and Waterline Media.
Designed for explorers and made for adventure, Arksen vessels have been designed to meet the requirements for true explorer vessels in the 20 to 30m range, and that can be manned by minimal crew. On almost every level, the Arksen vessels beat the competition. On the strength, range, environmental impact, life-cycle management, usage opportunities and maintenance, the Arksen Series stand out. All interior layouts are easily reconfigured so they can be used for leisure, research and commercial purposes. Through the infusion of the latest technologies and ownership models, Arksen have created a series of platforms that will inspire the next generation of explorers to embark on their dream adventures.
Arksen have set out to not only create the world's best explorer vessels for ocean adventure but also to allow owners to use their vessels to the full, creating curated expeditions around the world through the 'Explorers' Club', and the research and conservation projects that Arksen support through the 'Arksen Foundation'.
The Arksen Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation, has been set up to provide project funding, facilitate cutting-edge scientific research and create innovative media to inspire a greater understanding of the beauty, complexity and fragility of the ocean ecosystem and its interfaces with the land around it. All Arksen owners join the Foundation and pledge to donate 10% of their vessels' annual sea time to projects that the Foundation collectively supports; allowing scientists, explorers, thought leaders, filmmakers, journalists, photographers, artists and athletes access to a fleet of vessels from which to run their projects and realise their ideas.
As a statement of intent and a sign of Arksen's commitment to the environment, Arksen have signed up to '1% for the Planet', an international organisation whose members commit to donating the equivalent of 1% of annual sales to support environmental causes.
Smith concluded: "Ultimately, Arksen is about delivering the very best machines for ocean adventure that money can buy, supporting them and giving our community of owners, scientists and conservationists the confidence to use our vessels to their full potential. Our collective futures will depend on our ability to understand, protect and save our oceans for future generations, and I know that sailors who are inspired to own an Arksen vessel will embrace our ethics and approach. Owning an Arksen vessel is not a status symbol. It is a statement of intent."
Summary of the Arksen Series
- Interiors: The interiors are highly reconfigurable and designed to support leisure, research and commercial use. There is sufficient onboard storage for up to three months at sea
- Exceptional range: The Arksen 85 offers 6000+ miles of cruising on a single tank of fuel (around 16k litres)
- Solar capabilities: All Arksen vessels have extensive solar capabilities. The Arksen 85 has 4.2kw of solar capacity
- Ark Control: Critical systems monitoring. An AI technology that continually tracks critical systems to optimise performance and minimise unscheduled maintenance. Working directly with owners our on-shore engineers create detailed service plans and schedules, ordering parts in advance and acting as a guardian angel for our intrepid explorers
- Autonomy ready: We are working towards semi and fully autonomous vessels. In the future we expect to be able to work with our owners to have their vessels delivered to a given destination at a given time, allowing Arksen Mission Control to navigate the vessel at optimal speeds for the prevailing conditions
- Research and sensors onboard: Every Arksen vessel is fitted with a modular and flexible monitoring system to analyse the water quality continuously. These include a flow-through system, often seen on ferries, to automatically feedback data to institutions around the world to live track crucial water parameters
- Stability: All Arksen vessels are designed to offer sea kindliness, with three forms of stabilisation and a hull designed to offer true stability
- Hybrid: The diesel / electric propulsion option is one of four options available
- Recovery from capsize: We hope this will never happen! But it's good to know that if the worst does happen that all Arksen vessels are designed to recover from capsize
- Long-life service: Our vessels are designed for 50-year service life, are recyclable at the end of life and are built using sustainable materials
- Exceptional hull efficiency: In a calm sea at seven knots, the power requirement for the Arksen 85 is just 12kw (the equivalent of four kettles)
- Speed: Fast average cruising speeds of 11 to 14 knots
- Ice capable: Arksen vessels can be beached and are ice capable, with full Ice Class hull options available.
Inspirations
Everyone needs role models and we are no exception. These intrepid explorers tirelessly worked to prove their theories were correct, creating new technologies and methods along the way. For each of them the romance of adventure was very much alive, and we wish to follow in their footsteps.
Fridtjof Nansen was a great Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. In his youth he was a champion skier and ice skater. He led the team that made the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888, traversing the island on cross-country skis and led the famous Fram expedition to sail to the North Pole.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau was a French naval officer, explorer, conservationist, filmmaker, innovator, scientist, photographer, author and researcher who studied the sea and all forms of life in water. He co-developed the Aqua-lung, pioneered marine conservation and was a member of the Académie française.
Thor Heyerdahl was a Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer with a background in zoology, botany, and geography. He became famous for his incredible Kon-Tiki expedition in 1947, in which he sailed 8,000 km across the Pacific Ocean in a hand-built raft from South America to the Tuamotu Islands. The expedition was designed to demonstrate that ancient people could have made long sea voyages, creating contacts between separate cultures.
Bill Tilman was an English explorer, sailor, mountaineer and one of the finest travel writers of the last century. He is known for his many heroic climbing and sailing expeditions around the world and was an important pioneered of ecologically adventure and exploration. He was one of those rare people who considered the journey itself as the adventure.
Explorer's Club
Adventure is at the forefront of what an Arksen vessel is designed for; a vessel that is a seamless hybrid of timeless quality and modern exploration technology. Our aim is to help Arksen owners realise the potential of their vessel and themselves.
Through the Arksen Explorers' club, owners will have access to two types of adventure:
a. Custom and curated adventures. Long or short, extreme or serene, there is something for all tastes; authentic adventure that is both safe and enjoyable. Our specialists have a catalogue of ideas for owners to choose from or they can help you plan something unique.
b. Signature Adventures. Arksen vessels are designed to achieve more than any other vessel of their size and they are designed to forge new paths where private vessels have seldom ventured before. We were inspired to launch Arksen by the stories of some of our greatest Arctic and ocean explorers; Nansen, Cousteau, Heyerdahl and Tilman. Therefore, our signature trips have been designed as a homage to the greats, who between them, have changed our perceptions of what is possible.
Signature Adventures
The Arksen Signature Adventures are inspired by some of the real-life expeditions, locations, oceans and aspirations of our greatest explorers, their legacy fuels our sense of adventure, our love of the wild and the challenge of the unknown. Inspired by these adventurers we have created a series of signature trips spanning the globe; from the Arctic to Antarctica, the Pacific to the Atlantic, adventures to encourage the explorer within all of us. While some of the Signature Adventures are thousands of miles long as a whole, it should also be remembered that they all have the ability to be shortened or travelled in stages.
Come and visit us at Boot Dusseldorf (Hall 7a Stand G09), find us at Arksen.com or via our social channels @arksenproject.