The world’s first maritime ranger service /
The Sea Ranger Service (‘SRS’) is an innovative solution with a combined impact on ocean conservation and employability in the maritime sector. While there are international agreements to protect our oceans against the effects of climate change, pollution and overfishing, there is a lack of resources at sea to monitor and service marine protected areas (‘MPAs’). The SRS’ vision is to fill this gap with a globally scalable model built on 3 legs: training and employment of -unemployed-youths in the maritime sector, purpose-built sailing vessels and offshore services offered to governments, maritime agencies, private organisations and scientific institutions. The first Sea Ranger Bootcamp (training) was delivered in March-April 2018 with funding from the Rabobank Foundation and the municipality of Rotterdam. With support from FASE, SRS successfully raised a round to launch the commercial Sea Ranger Service operationally, and to finance the final stages of construction of the Sea Ranger Ship. SRS was founded by Wietse van der Werf, a globally recognised expert in ocean conservation.