According to the embassy statement, the ship's passage through Luanda aims to carry out a study on the Benguela current that moves off the coasts of Namibia and Angola: "After a first stop in Cape Town, the laboratory ship Tara left South Africa to carry out a study on the Benguela current that moves along the coasts of Namibia and Angola".
During their stopover in Luanda, the scientific and maritime crew will "organize guided tours aboard the sailboat to show schools and the general public the operation of this floating laboratory", the note said.
In addition, on the occasion the Tara Océan Foundation – to which the laboratory ship belongs –, the French Embassy in Angola and the Alliance Française in Luanda will also organize "various awareness-raising activities and public visits in collaboration with local institutions (National Museum of Natural History, National Institute for Fisheries and Marine Research, Universidade Agostinho Neto) and local associations (EcoAngola, Kitabanga Organisation, Otchiva, Química Verde)".
Thus, the note states that the foundation will organize with Angolan associations the 'Ocean Forum' with a view to "promoting awareness-raising actions on the preservation of the planet and the ocean".
The foundation is carrying out the third phase of its scientific expedition, which concerns the study of the coast of West Africa. Thus, the statement said, "during this last stage", the ship will continue "a research mission in seven countries", namely South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Gambia and Senegal.
