Solar-powered boat circumnavigates the globe – in pictures

The giant PlanetSolar catamaran, Türanor, is on the last leg of the first ever attempt to circumnavigate the globe simply by harnessing the power of the sun
  
  


Solar-powered catamaran: Record-breaking solar-powered catamaran arrives in Hong Kong
The Swiss-registered solar-powered vessel, 'MS Türanor PlanetSolar enters Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong, China on 15 August 2011. The solar-powered catamaran is on a record-breaking circumnavigation of the world, powered exclusively by solar energy Photograph: Alex Hofford/EPA
The Turanor Planet Solar: world's largest solar-powered boat Brisbane, Australia
The yacht arrives on its first Australian stopover at Riverside Centre Pontoon, Brisbane Photograph: James D. Morgan/Rex Features
The Turanor Planet Solar: world's largest solar-powered boat
The catamaran passes New Caledonia, France, 12 May 2011 Photograph: Planetsolar/Corbis
The Turanor Planet Solar: world's largest solar-powered boat in Cancun
A woman walks on the deck. The boat arrived in Cancún on 6 December Photograph: Stringer/Reuters
The Turanor Planet Solar: world's largest solar-powered boat in Miami
The catamaran stops in Miami Beach after its record-breaking transatlantic crossing powered solely by the sun Photograph: Juerg Schreiter/Demotix/Corbis
The Turanor Planet Solar: world's largest solar-powered boat through the Kiel canal Germany
The ship makes its way through the Kiel canal near Landwehr, northern Germany, on 7 August Photograph: Carsten Rehder/Getty Images
PlanetSolar: PlanetSolar solar powered boat
A computer-generated image of the yacht
Photograph: www.planetsolar.org Photograph: guardian.co.uk
PlanetSolar: PlanetSolar solar powered boat
The form of the boat takes shape at the Knierim boatyard, which was responsible for the build
Photograph: www.planetsolar.org Photograph: guardian.co.uk
PlanetSolar: PlanetSolar solar powered boat
During the voyage, the catamaran and the PlanetSolar Village made several stopovers where the public were able to find out about the origin of the project and its aims, and visit exhibitions on renewable energy
Photograph: www.planetsolar.org Photograph: guardian.co.uk
PlanetSolar: PlanetSolar solar powered boat
The yacht sailed from Manila in the Pilippines on the 332nd day of its voyage, which began in the south of France
Photograph: www.planetsolar.org Photograph: guardian.co.uk
PlanetSolar: PlanetSolar solar powered boat
Construction on the interior of Türanor. The catamaran followed an east-west route along the equator, in order to take advantage of as much sunshine as possible
Photograph: www.planetsolar.org Photograph: guardian.co.uk
PlanetSolar: PlanetSolar solar powered boat
The completed boat weighs 85 tonnes and travels on average at 8.7mph (14km/h)
Photograph: www.planetsolar.org Photograph: guardian.co.uk
PlanetSolar: PlanetSolar solar powered boat
The six-man crew were not short of solar energy on the six-day crossing of the South China Sea. Temperatures of 43C (109F) saw the panels heat up to 77C
Photograph: www.planetsolar.org Photograph: guardian.co.uk
PlanetSolar: PlanetSolar solar powered boat
Workers fit solar panels along the roof of the boat. The speed of the boat was adjusted according to sunshine along the route
Photograph: www.planetsolar.org Photograph: guardian.co.uk
PlanetSolar: PlanetSolar solar powered boat
The finished boat. The boat was able to sail for four days without any light at all
Photograph: www.planetsolar.org Photograph: guardian.co.uk
PlanetSolar: PlanetSolar solar powered boat
A computer-generated rendering of the finished boat. A 110-metre crane was required to lift the catamaran out of the vast hangar and set it down into the Baltic Sea
Photograph: www.planetsolar.org Photograph: guardian.co.uk
PlanetSolar: PlanetSolar solar powered boat
The two helmsmen: Raphaël Domjan, right, the initiator of the project, and Gérard d’Aboville, the first man to row across the Atlantic and the Pacific. Domjan said: 'Most of all the PlanetSolar project is a great occasion to advance scientific research and to show that today technology is already available to design the most environmentally friendly means of transport'
Photograph: www.planetsolar.org Photograph: guardian.co.uk
 

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