Henderson Expedition

First steps on Henderson Island, covered in waste

12 February 2024 | by

On Monday, February 12, 2024, the Plastic Odyssey vessel and the expedition crew arrived off the coast of Henderson Island. Circling the island from its southern side and taking advantage of favorable navigation conditions, the team of explorers was able to travel up the uninhabited island’s East coast to reach the two-kilometer beach, the world’s most polluted sanctuary, marking the beginning of The Impossible Cleanup mission.

Two days of navigation from Mangareva

After everyone gathered in Mangareva – the easternmost island of French Polynesia – to finalize expedition preparations and after the tropical depression “NAT” passed over our heads, the teams were able to calmly weigh anchor and set sail on Saturday, February 10. Heading towards the Pitcairn Archipelago islands, two days of navigation away, and specifically towards Henderson Island, designated as the place with “the highest density of plastic debris ever recorded in the world.”

An island polluted by plastic waste

Although the island is classified as a UNESCO World Heritage site for its diversity, endemic species – a unique fauna and flora worldwide – and hosting one of the last elevated coral reefs globally, Henderson and its paradise beaches are nonetheless affected by pollution. Trapped in the Pacific Ocean gyre, tonnes of waste continuously spill onto its shores.

As the crew members gathered on the deck to admire the wild coasts of the island through the vessel’s portholes on this sunny Monday morning, they could see the East beach of Henderson covered in visible waste, stretching for hundreds of meters! We become aware of the challenge ahead of us. In addition to picking up and extracting the 6 tonnes of plastics collected during the 2019 expedition on Henderson, we will have a lot of work to clean up the two kilometers of this beautiful beach.

Without wasting a moment, while the ship is still sailing and Henderson Island unfolds before us, Simon BERNARD, the expedition leader, and three other explorers decide to set foot on the island to assess the damage up close. Knowing that it is impossible to approach the island by boat due to the coral reefs, the team boards a raft made from 2 inflatable paddles, specially designed to safely cross the atoll, reach the beach, unload our camp, and potentially extract the collected waste to the vessel.

Setting foot on Henderson’s beach for the first time, we are stunned… The coast is filled with all kinds of waste, carried by winds and currents. Using our inflatable paddle raft, we transport all the equipment from the ship to camp on the beach and be ready for the start of the cleaning mission, which will begin the next day.

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On Monday, February 12, 2024, the Plastic Odyssey vessel and the expedition crew arrived off the coast of Henderson Island. Circling the island from its southern side and taking advantage of favorable navigation conditions....