Who could have seen this coming?

[KPChief]

Ocean Cleanup device in Great Pacific Garbage Patch breaks, will be towed...

The break was discovered on Dec. 29
during a routine inspection by the cleanup system’s crew. A 60-foot end
section of the 2,000-foot boom that corrals the plastic had detached,
Boyan Slat, Cleanup’s CEO, posted on the Dutch non-profit’s blog on New Year’s Eve.The
fracture was caused by material fatigue, he wrote. That’s likely
because of the intense action of the waves that puts tremendous stress
on objects in the water.

Was the part that broke off recovered or is it now part of the great garbage patch? MARPOL prosecutors take note.

[ombugge]

From the official announcement from OceanCleanup. (Posted in Shuttlebut)

It’s important to note that both the 580-meter main section and the 18-meter end section are both completely stable; all bulkheads are intact, and the end section has two stabilizers affixed to it, so rollover is not possible Also, because no material was lost, there have been no safety risks for the crew, environment or passing marine traffic. However, as the redundancy in the cleanup system’s sensors and satellite communication (which are mounted on both end sections) has now been compromised, we concluded it is sensible to return to port.

[KPChief]

That’s good news. One story I saw said they had other troubles because - at times - the free floating containment often advanced through the water more slowly than the plastic items which lead to them escaping the containment and becoming free floating pollution again.

EDIT: Found this on their website which explains it.

[dbeierl]

@KPChief

EDIT: Found this on their website which explains it.

Wow! It’s a parabolic wave reflector! Shows clearly in the overhead photo.