Image credit : https://www.vesselx.net/vatoz

Floating debris and oil contamination in marinas and harbors have traditionally required significant human effort and resources to clean up. As a result, many operators are seeking innovative, cost-effective, and sustainable solutions to improve water quality while reducing operational expenses.

Enter Vatoz: A Smarter Approach to Water Surface Cleaning

In response to this growing need, Turkey-based VesselX developed Vatoz, an autonomous vessel specifically designed to efficiently clean water surfaces in heavily trafficked waters.

Located in İzmir Bilimpark, Turkey, VesselX was founded by Ogul Görgülü in 2022 with a mission to empower marine and coastal stakeholders to sustainably manage, protect, and preserve aquatic environments. As global initiatives increasingly focus on sustainability and environmental conservation, automated solutions like Vatoz have become essential in addressing water pollution effectively and affordably.

Compact, Smart, and Environmentally Friendly

Vatoz is designed with efficiency in mind. Measuring 140 cm in length, 120 cm in width, and with a shallow draft of just 17 cm, the vessel can navigate narrow and shallow waters with ease. It operates for up to 10 hours on a single charge, making it suitable for extended cleaning missions.

Powered by an advanced low-impact propulsion system, Vatoz operates quietly, reducing noise pollution and minimizing disruption to marine life. Its autonomous navigation capabilities allow it to maneuver seamlessly through cluttered waterways, avoiding obstacles while maximizing waste collection—no human intervention needed.

High-Capacity Waste Collection & Water Quality Monitoring

Vatoz isn’t just an ordinary waste-collecting robot—it’s a multi-functional environmental management tool.

• Efficient Waste Collection: The vessel can collect 80 to 100 liters of floating debris at a time, including macro-waste and hydrocarbons. It efficiently removes pollutants such as plastic bottles, food wrappers, and oil residues, helping restore the cleanliness of restricted water areas.
• Real-Time Water Quality Monitoring: Equipped with advanced sensors, Vatoz collects real-time environmental data, measuring temperature, pH levels, and contamination indicators. This data provides valuable insights into aquatic ecosystem trends, allowing authorities and researchers to make informed decisions on water conservation strategies.
• Integrated Environmental Management: The collected data can be seamlessly integrated with existing environmental monitoring systems, supporting long-term pollution tracking and proactive ecosystem management.

By combining waste removal with real-time data collection, Vatoz is a game-changer in both active pollution management and long-term environmental sustainability.

Growing Recognition and Strategic Collaborations

Vatoz’s strong performance has helped VesselX secure partnerships and support from key organizations, including:

• InnovX
• Izmir University of Economics
• UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization)
• GCIP (Global Cleantech Innovation Program)
• TÜBİTAK (The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey)
• Izmir Metropolitan Municipality
• BIGG (Entrepreneurial Support Program)
• TeknoFest
• Ocean Community
• Sugep Network
• Malta Ccelerate
• ClimAccelerator
• Iletisim

The Bigger Picture: Scaling Up Autonomous Cleaners

The development of autonomous environmental solutions like Vatoz marks a significant step toward sustainable water management, setting a new standard for cleaner, healthier aquatic ecosystems worldwide.

These compact, AI-powered vessels have the potential to expand beyond marinas and harbors, eventually being deployed in coastal areas known for massive plastic buildup. Looking further ahead, they could even be adapted for open waters, tackling widespread pollution in some of the world’s most contaminated waterways and oceanic regions.

With continued advancements in battery technology, we can expect future models to operate longer hours with shorter charge times, allowing near continuous, around-the-clock cleaning operations. Combining smarter AI-driven navigation with the ability to neutralize chemical pollutants and remove surface oil, autonomous vessels like Vatoz could play a pivotal role in disaster response and large-scale environmental cleanup efforts.

The big question now is: How soon can we scale up these autonomous systems to maximize their impact?

References

Responsible Autonomous Solutions | Vessel X. (n.d.). Vessel X. https://www.vesselx.net/

VESSEL X. (2023, September 30). Vessel X – VATOZ [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwaB1A_S88w

https://bigg.tubitak.gov.tr/tr/girisim/vessel-x

Contributor : Ariana Tri Asti
Reviewer : Imam Buchari