Fondation Pacifique

Fondation Pacifique is a Geneva-based Swiss foundation focused on the conservation and understanding of the oceans. It developed from two complementary Geneva organisations: Association Pacifique, created around the beginning of the 2000s, and Association Antinea, inaugurated in 2005. Their activities converged around the use of sailing vessels as platforms for scientific observation, environmental communication, education, and public participation. The organisation was formally established as the Antinea Foundation under Swiss law in June 2007 and continued under the name Fondation Pacifique from 2014. The foundation's principal platform is Fleur de Passion, a 32-metre sailing vessel with an unusual history. Built in 1941 for the German Navy, the boat was later transferred to the French Navy and eventually converted into a sailing ketch for educational, diving, and scientific work. Association Pacifique acquired the vessel in 2002 after it had been abandoned and began a comprehensive restoration in 2003. More than five years of work returned the ship to service as an expedition and research vessel. Fondation Pacifique's activities are organised around three broad objectives. First, it supports scientific research by giving researchers access to the vessel and to marine areas that are difficult to study through conventional shore-based programmes. Second, it communicates ocean issues to wider audiences through media, educational activities, expedition reporting, and public-facing scientific work. Third, it creates opportunities for members, volunteers, and other participants to contribute directly to marine conservation projects. The foundation's partnership model is central to its work. Rather than operating only as an independent research institution, it brings together scientific, conservation, ecotourism, educational, and media organisations. It can provide a ship, logistical capacity, communications support, and financial or organisational resources to partner-led initiatives. This approach has included cooperation with the International Union for Conservation of Nature and access for organisations conducting research in significant marine habitats. In 2008, the Antinea Foundation and IUCN launched the Changing Oceans Expedition. The expedition sought to document the condition of important marine areas, investigate changes associated with human activity, compare contemporary observations with earlier records, and identify possible conservation responses. Fleur de Passion visited biodiversity-rich seas, marine World Heritage sites, and other globally important protected or threatened areas. The project combined field research with communication and education, presenting ocean conservation as both a scientific and public-policy issue. From 2015 to 2019, Fleur de Passion undertook the Ocean Mapping Expedition, a voyage inspired by Ferdinand Magellan's circumnavigation route. The expedition combined scientific, cultural, and educational objectives and began and ended in Seville. Through these programmes, the foundation positioned the vessel not simply as a transport asset, but as a mobile research station and public communication platform. The organisation's work is therefore best understood as expedition-based ocean conservation. It does not primarily sell consumer products or operate as a conventional commercial brand. Its identifiable offering consists of research access, expedition logistics, conservation partnerships, educational programming, volunteer participation, and public communication. The Antinea name belongs chiefly to the foundation's earlier identity, while Fondation Pacifique is the later name associated with the continuing organisation.

Fondation Pacifique traces its institutional origins to two Geneva-based organisations formed in the early 2000s. Association Pacifique was established to support socio-educational, navigation, diving, and scientific activities, while Association Antinea developed a more explicitly global ocean-expedition concept. The two initiatives eventually combined their assets and objectives around the idea of using a sailing vessel as a platform for marine research and conservation communication. A key early development was Association Pacifique's acquisition of Fleur de Passion in 2002. The approximately 32-metre vessel had originally been built in 1941 for the German Navy, including wartime logistical duties. After the Second World War it was transferred to the French Navy. It was later sold into private ownership, converted into a ketch, and used for educational and scientific activities in the Mediterranean and Atlantic. By the time Association Pacifique acquired it, the vessel had been abandoned for several years. Restoration began after the ship was placed in dry dock in January 2003. The project required more than five years of work and approximately 60,000 hours of labour before Fleur de Passion was again ready to sail. During the same period, Association Antinea was developing plans for a worldwide sailing expedition dedicated to marine research and communication. Its 17-metre sloop Antinea completed an initial Atlantic leg from the Caribbean to Europe in 2005. The scale of the proposed programme soon exceeded what that smaller vessel could support. Recognising that their missions and resources were complementary, Association Pacifique and Association Antinea merged their efforts at the beginning of 2006. The resulting Antinea Foundation was formally constituted in June 2007 as a foundation under Swiss law. Its mission was to make an innovative contribution to ocean protection through three connected forms of activity: scientific research, communication and education, and opportunities for participation by volunteers and other supporters. The organisation's first major international programme was the Changing Oceans Expedition, launched on 8 October 2008 at the World Conservation Congress in Barcelona in partnership with IUCN. The programme used Fleur de Passion to visit marine areas recognised for their biodiversity or conservation importance, including marine World Heritage sites and other significant protected areas. Researchers and partner organisations could use the vessel as a field platform. The expedition also sought to compare new observations with records from earlier voyages and logbooks, helping document changes in marine environments over time. Fleur de Passion subsequently became the foundation's enduring flagship and project station. Its role extended beyond transportation: it served as a place for research, a base for interdisciplinary collaboration, and a means of bringing marine issues to audiences through media and educational activity. The foundation's partnership network included organisations working in science, conservation, ecotourism, and communications. In 2014, the organisation continued under the name Fondation Pacifique. From April 2015 through September 2019, Fleur de Passion took part in the Ocean Mapping Expedition. Following the route associated with Ferdinand Magellan, the voyage linked ocean observation with cultural and educational objectives and began and ended in Seville. Across these projects, Fondation Pacifique established a distinctive model of conservation work based on a mobile sailing platform, international partnerships, and the combination of field science with public engagement.

• 2019

  Ocean Mapping Expedition concludes

  [1]Fondation Pacifiqueen.wikipedia.org

  The expedition ended in September after completing its planned voyage.

• 2015

  Ocean Mapping Expedition begins

  [1]Fondation Pacifiqueen.wikipedia.org

  Fleur de Passion began a Magellan-inspired circumnavigation combining scientific, cultural, and educational goals.

• 2014

  The organisation adopts the Fondation Pacifique name

  [1]Fondation Pacifiqueen.wikipedia.org

  The Antinea Foundation continued its work under the Fondation Pacifique name.

• 2008

  Changing Oceans Expedition launches

  [1]Fondation Pacifiqueen.wikipedia.org

  The foundation and IUCN launched a worldwide expedition to investigate ocean change and conservation needs.

• 2007

  Antinea Foundation is established under Swiss law

  [1]Fondation Pacifiqueen.wikipedia.org

  The foundation was officially established in June in Switzerland.

• 2006

  Association Pacifique and Association Antinea unite their activities

  [1]Fondation Pacifiqueen.wikipedia.org

  The two organisations combined resources and expertise after determining that their ocean-research objectives were complementary.

• 2005

  Association Antinea completes its initial Atlantic leg

  [1]Fondation Pacifiqueen.wikipedia.org

  The 17-metre sloop Antinea sailed from the Caribbean to Europe as the first leg of a proposed global expedition.

• 2003

  Restoration of Fleur de Passion begins

  [1]Fondation Pacifiqueen.wikipedia.org

  The vessel entered dry dock and underwent a comprehensive restoration lasting more than five years.

• 2002

  Association Pacifique acquires Fleur de Passion

  [1]Fondation Pacifiqueen.wikipedia.org

  Association Pacifique bought the abandoned 32-metre vessel that would become the foundation's principal expedition and research platform.

• 2000

  Association Pacifique is created

  [1]Fondation Pacifiqueen.wikipedia.org

  The institutional history of the later foundation begins with the creation of Association Pacifique in Geneva.

A Swiss, expedition-based ocean-conservation foundation that connects marine science, conservation partnerships, education, and public communication through the use of a restored sailing vessel.

• Research and expedition vessel · 1941

  Fleur de Passion

  Fleur de Passion is Fondation Pacifique's flagship and principal project platform. Originally built in 1941 for the German Navy, the vessel later entered French service and was converted into a sailing ketch for educational and scientific use. After being acquired and restored by Association Pacifique, it became a mobile base for marine research, conservation expeditions, education, media work, and partner projects.

• Ocean-conservation expedition · 2008

  Changing Oceans Expedition

  Launched in 2008 with IUCN, this international expedition used Fleur de Passion to examine the condition of significant marine regions and investigate changes associated with human activity. It combined field research, comparisons with historical expedition records, conservation analysis, and communication intended to broaden public understanding of ocean change.

• Scientific, cultural, and educational expedition · 2015

  Ocean Mapping Expedition

  The Ocean Mapping Expedition used Fleur de Passion to follow the route associated with Ferdinand Magellan. Running from 2015 to 2019, it combined marine observation with cultural documentation and educational outreach, presenting the vessel as a platform for interdisciplinary work and public engagement.

• 2015The Ocean Mapping Expedition

  International · Atlantic Ocean · Global circumnavigation route

  A Magellan-inspired voyage combining scientific, cultural, and educational objectives was conducted aboard Fleur de Passion from April 2015 through September 2019.

  Outcome. The expedition began and ended in Seville and extended the foundation's use of sailing expeditions as instruments for research and public education.

  Source
• 2008The Changing Oceans Expedition

  International · Marine World Heritage sites · Globally significant marine protected areas

  Fondation Pacifique and IUCN launched a global expedition to assess the state of the oceans, examine the effects of human activity, revisit areas studied by earlier expeditions, and investigate conservation solutions.

  Outcome. Fleur de Passion served as a research and communication platform visiting important marine regions and enabling partner organisations to conduct field work.

  Source

• 2014

  Adopt the Fondation Pacifique identityStrategy

  Background

  The Antinea Foundation had developed a continuing programme centred on Fleur de Passion and broader ocean-conservation partnerships.

  Action taken

  The organisation continued under the Fondation Pacifique name.

  Aftermath

  The foundation retained its expedition, research, education, and conservation focus while moving beyond the earlier Antinea identity.

  Source

• 2007

  Establish a Swiss foundation for ocean conservationStrategy

  Background

  The merged initiatives required a common legal and organisational structure for research, education, conservation partnerships, and expedition operations.

  Action taken

  The Antinea Foundation was officially established as a foundation under Swiss law in June 2007.

  Aftermath

  The foundation formalised its three-part model of scientific research, communication and education, and public participation.

  Source

• 2006

  Unite the Pacifique and Antinea initiativesStrategy

  Background

  Association Pacifique had a larger restored vessel while Association Antinea was developing a global marine expedition concept. Their objectives and resources were considered complementary.

  Action taken

  The organisations combined their assets, resources, and expertise to develop a single foundation-led ocean-conservation programme.

  Aftermath

  The joint effort led to the formal creation of the Antinea Foundation under Swiss law in 2007.

  Source

1. 1Fondation Pacifiqueen.wikipedia.org