Known for its mapping cars that have already scoured the country, Google now has financed a souped-up research vessel, primed and ready for exploratory missions, though its purpose will clearly be very different. Watercraft insurance can be sought to keep pace with new developments in marine technology, especially when those innovations require intensive work (not to mention much financial investment).
Forbes recently profiled a West Coast press conference in which this craft and its purpose were discussed, as well as the potential for its use in identifying environmental changes. The ship appears to be of great importance to scientists, and in its new incarnation reportedly cost more than $90 million to revamp.
At this event in San Francisco, Wendy Schmidt, philanthropist and supporter of various rights and activist groups, discussed the importance of understanding our impact on underwater environments and how this vessel might lead to a greater knowledge that could be used to fight against disaster.
"The oceans are in trouble," she said. "They have absorbed so much carbon dioxide that they are destroying coral reefs and the bottom link of the food chain."
The Associated Press reports that Falkor, named after the Luck Dragon from "The Neverending Story," will be primarily used to investigate different sites of interest in the Pacific, from the waters off of Canada to Hawaii.
Such work can be as uncertain as it is important to the environment, and a suitable policy of boat insurance can contribute to the satisfactory performance of researchers and workers in this field.