St. Helena’s new lease of life

The St. Helena has been showcased as a floating centrepiece of the inaugural season of Extreme E. It’s conveyed the team from destination to destination and also, says the organiser, serves as a symbol of how even the most gas-guzzling of old ships can be given a new lease of life. Marine Industry News reported on its renovation earlier this year.

Some of the most prominent interior design features of the St. Helena, says Extreme E, include St. Helena’s use of low-energy LED lighting, bathroom fittings which ensure low water consumption, as well as furniture made from upcycled plastic bottles collected in the Mediterranean. Neptun Ozis is responsible for its interior design. He was tasked with taking a 30-year-old ship and redesigning it for a more sustainable age.

Ozis says one of the learnings he’s taken away from St. Helena‘s design is the way that resin can be used. He admits materials like resin aren’t totally sustainable to create, but are considerably more sustainable to use than timber or other traditional building materials.

“I’ve learnt a lot of things, and most of them are material-based,” says Ozis.

“One other thing I learned is we don’t need to do something from scratch, we can upcycle instead. You can upcycle a lot of things for your future project. When you are talking environmentally-friendly, sustainable projects, you should be very open-minded on your plans.”