Uploaded June 2017 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
The Thor Heyerdahl International Maritime Environmental Award was launched in 1999 by Thor Heyerdahl (1914 – 2002) and the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association. The prize recognizes candidates from the shipping industry that have made an outstanding contribution for the environment.
The Norwegian adventurer and explorer Thor Heyerdahl crossed the Atlantic on the RA I and RA II papyrus rafts in 1969 and 1970. While proving that a papyrus raft could have crossed the Atlantic in pre-Columbian times, Heyerdahl also made first hand observations of the world oceans becoming polluted. He made reports to the UN and was asked by the UN Secretary-General to make daily pollution observations during the Ra II voyage. Hardened clumps of tar were collected on 43 days of the 57-day voyage.
The reports were one of the elements forming the background to the international community’s extensive efforts to improve the state of the ocean. This in turn led to the formation of the UN maritime sub-organisation International Maritime Organization (IMO).
The Thor Heyerdahl International Maritime Environmental Award was launched in 1999 by Thor Heyerdahl (1914 – 2002) and the Norwegian Shipowners’ Association. The prize recognizes candidates from the shipping industry that have made an outstanding contribution for the environment.
The Norwegian adventurer and explorer Thor Heyerdahl crossed the Atlantic on the RA I and RA II papyrus rafts in 1969 and 1970. While proving that a papyrus raft could have crossed the Atlantic in pre-Columbian times, Heyerdahl also made first hand observations of the world oceans becoming polluted. He made reports to the UN and was asked by the UN Secretary-General to make daily pollution observations during the Ra II voyage. Hardened clumps of tar were collected on 43 days of the 57-day voyage.
The reports were one of the elements forming the background to the international community’s extensive efforts to improve the state of the ocean. This in turn led to the formation of the UN maritime sub-organisation International Maritime Organization (IMO).
