MYANMAR EMBRACES SOLAR ENERGY

The first fully solar-powered commercial yacht in Asia will set sail this season in Myanmar’s southern coastal waters, offering sailing expeditions around the Myeik Archipelago.

The S55 is an ultra-modern 16.7metre 100% solar-powered catamaran, which can accommodate up to six guests and three crew members.

The designers at Silent-Yachts created the S55 with 30 mounted solar panels creating 10kWp. This capacity allows the vessel to cruise an unlimited distance on a typical sunny day; there is also a conventional back-up fuel engine option. The S55 can reach a maximum speed of 12 knots.

Despite the remoteness of Myanmar’s rural communities, many families and cooperative societies are embracing the benefits of solar power.

Direct energy from the sun can be used either as photovoltaic energy, where light is converted directly into electricity, or as thermal energy, where heat from the sun can be used to generate electricity. Solar energy is a clean, renewable source of energy which, once installed, overcomes issues such as access and pollution.

“Our guests are often inquisitive about the village kitchens, bathrooms, schools, medicines and electricity. They are quite surprised to see modern 21st century solar panels built into local thatched roofs.” Said Ships Manager Mr Kaw Htoo.

Guests cruising with Irrawaddy Voyages experience authentic and traditional shore excursions including the villages of Yandabo, Ngew Gone & Salay; each of whom has some solar panel technology.

Sustainable Action Plan

We are market leaders in the areas of travel, tourism, leisure and hospitality and specialize in remote destination river cruising. Our commitment is to create unique travel experiences for Myanmar residents and overseas inbound markets. We aspire to making the Irrawaddy River and onshore locations, a world renowned destination embracing environmental tourism best practices. Through our product development and marketing, we continue to provide employment and career opportunities for our fulltime personnel, seasonal income for part-time staff, long term commercial alliances with our industry suppliers and business partners. We contribute to the conservation of our natural resources and cultural heritage, to proudly promote and share our rich diversity.

Irrawaddy Voyages offers guests a genuine nature based travel experience in a stylish and luxurious cruising environment.

At all times we adopt a Safety First Policy 24/7. This applies not only to our onboard guests but to our ships crews and office based administration personnel. We ensure that every guest receives a warm and friendly welcome, a high level of comfort and excellent service. We also believe in delivering a responsible tourism experience that is environmentally friendly and gives back to the river communities. Our sustainable policies promote environmentally friendly operations that contribute to the protection of our natural and cultural heritage. We continuously strive to be a fair employer that promotes local recruitment and promotion.

Responsible Tourism Commitment;

• To minimize the negative impacts of our operation through prudent purchasing procedures, waste recycling, village & community projects and staff training and awareness.
• To form dedicated teams to implement our sustainable policies, with the full support from business owners and management. (Ref: Travelife www.travelife.org )
• To comply with all relevant national and regional environmental rules and regulations.
• To continuously create high quality products and services to meet our guest needs, wants and expectations.
• To continuously learn and understand the environmental, social and cultural issues associated with our operation.
• To be a fair employer that recruits locally and supports internships, training and long term career opportunities for local employees.
• To encourage and promote local prudent purchasing whenever possible, both onboard our vessels and onshore.