Boris Herrmann and Team Malizia will participate in The Ocean Race 2022/23 and Vendée Globe 2024/25
by Holly Cova 12 May 2021 22:13 PDT
Boris Herrmann - Seaexplorer © Jean-Marie LIOT / Team Malizia
Building on the successful four-year campaign which culminated in a fifth place in the Vendée Globe and created strong enthusiasm and media impact in Germany, France and 70 other countries around the globe, Boris Herrmann and his team are embarking on a new five-year programme. The focus on ocean science and education remains key.
Team Malizia has committed to building a new boat with the French design team VPLP and the Multiplast yard in France in order to compete on the highest level in the coming years. VPLP and Multiplast built the current boat and proved to be reliable partners in the past years. The main aim for the new boat is to allow better wave passage and higher average speeds while setting even higher standards on robustness and reliability.
The project is already in the design phase. Malizia has grown the team in order to bring in strong technical knowledge from the French offshore racing scene. The team will also work with German based Greenboats in order to create boat-parts from sustainable materials and with SCHÜTZ in order to provide German-made materials for the new build.
The new IMOCA 60 is designed to compete in 18 races across 15 countries, a highlight will be the legendary Ocean Race 2022/23 (formerly the Volvo Ocean Race). This will see a team of 5 crew members sail around the world over 9 months in a climate positive race with 10 stopovers. Boris said: "I remember witnessing the German Illbruck Team winning the Volvo Ocean Race 2001 in Kiel and dreaming of competing in this prestigious event one day myself! Now we have that chance to sail around the world as a team! We will use it as a chance to test and develop the boat for the Vendee Globe 2024, to inspire children, collect valuable ocean-data and promote ambitious climate action."
Partnering for A Race We Must Win
Team Malizia signed five-year partnerships with Hapag-Lloyd, Zurich Group Germany, MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, EFG, Yacht Club de Monaco and Kuehne+Nagel. All the founding partners unite behind a common mission to support the United Nations Sustainability Goals (SDGs) and Team Malizia's A Race We Must Win movement which is about increasing ambition around climate action (SDG 13) as one of the most pressing challenges of our time.
"We are all together in one boat in a race against time to find solutions for the climate crisis. Therefore, we want to highlight some of the industry-solutions our partners work on, to help inspire a common vision and advocate for ever more ambitious action," explains Boris Herrmann.
"One of the key solutions in our eyes is the advancement of new fuels on the basis of renewable energies. This topic concerns our partners from the logistics, shipping, yachting, finance and the insurance industry alike. We think that those large corporations we partner with are key players in this urgently needed transformation.
Team Manager Holly Cova explains: "Our aim is to become a global sustainability platform which creates touch-points and events along our race stopovers around the world for businesses to exchange on sustainability whilst creating opportunities to interact with local schools, scientists and the general public. We will share this story, the emotions and the unfiltered raw content as we did during the past Vendee Globe with a focus on positive impact."
Founding partner, The Yacht Club de Monaco, has renewed its commitment and we are looking forward to pushing the sailing performance with team founder Pierre Casiraghi as well as collaborating on the educational and environmental mission which is one of the key focuses of HSH Prince Albert 2 and the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation.
The Malizia Ocean Challenge
The team will continue its Malizia Ocean Challenge program which focuses on ocean science and education and remains a key project supported by all our partners. Team Malizia's scientist Toste Tanhua from GEOMAR, Kiel highlights: "The ocean CO2 data collected during the Vendée Globe has proven incredibly valuable. It allows the global science community to better understand the oceans' role in climate change and the alarming rise in ocean CO2 concentration."
On the educational side, Team Malizia's full time ocean educator, Birte Lorenzen-Herrmann commented "through the adventure of sailing we found a way to motivate and sensitise kids to learn more about the ocean and climate, we are proud to have reached 45,000 children around the world. We have expanded the ocean education book to include climate crisis solutions and it is now free to download in 10 languages. Thanks to our partners we are now able to grow this activity even further with a stronger team of full-time teachers and new networks." You can download this for free from www.myoceanchallenge.org.
Partner Quotes
MSC continues as a partner with President of MSC Group Diego Aponte stating: "Climate change is a global imperative that impacts us all. At MSC, our heritage and passion for the ocean drives our desire to continue improving our environmental performance. We are actively exploring and trialling a range of alternative fuels and technologies on top of some significant energy efficiency improvements across our fleet. We believe the key to decarbonising shipping lies in strong partnerships and cross-sector information sharing. This is why we are proud to continue collaborating with like-minded partners such as Team Malizia and support A Race We Must Win movement aiming to accelerate transition to a zero-carbon future."
Zurich Group Germany becomes a new official partner: "We are delighted about this fantastic partnership and are looking forward to a common race on a sporting, social and political level! Zurich wants to become one of the most sustainable companies in the world. And with this aspiration, we have found the right partner in Boris and his mission 'A Race We Must Win'. We are both committed to climate protection and want to raise awareness of the risks of climate change," explains Dr. Carsten Schildknecht, CEO of Zurich Group Germany.
Hapag-Lloyd CEO, Rolf Habben Jansen, said: "Boris Herrmann and Hapag-Lloyd share the same values, as together we want to find solutions for the climate crisis. We very much believe that together we can achieve a lot. While Boris and his team will continue to focus on winning races, ocean science and education we will work hard on contributing to further and quicker decarbonize the shipping industry."
Commenting at the launch of the partnership, Giorgio Pradelli, CEO of EFG International said: "We are delighted to announce our continued support for Team Malizia and Boris Herrmann, who have already accomplished so much. To compete at the highest level in sport takes strength of character, leadership, and teamwork, all attributes we aspire to share. With their scientific mission to find solutions to ocean and climate change, they will continue to raise awareness for sustainability issues around the globe. We are hugely excited by the prospect of what we can achieve together."
Otto Schacht, Member of the Management Board of Kuehne + Nagel International AG, responsible for sea freight, said: "It is a scientifically proven fact that ocean health is ultimately important for human well-being. As part of our corporate identity, Kuehne+Nagel is striving for a sustainable future. Environmental protection through CO2 transparency, e.g. via our platform seaexplorer, and CO2 reduction is one of our company's major sustainability goals. We are excited to continue this journey with Team Malizia commonly striving to raise awareness and drive a sustainable future."
Bernard d'Alessandri, General Secretary of the Yacht Club de Monaco, said: "We are delighted to continue the adventure with Boris who has shown unwavering commitment and determination. He is a wonderful ambassador to promote our values, especially to our members and young sailors who follow his progress with enthusiasm."