if he could do it , he would prove to the world that there are other alternatives to powering sea travel besides fossil fuels and wind .
the solar - powered ms turanor planetsolar crosses the finish line of its trip around the world at the hercule harbor in monaco .
planetsolar is the brainchild of raphaël domjan , who is swiss and a former ambulance driver and mountain guide .
at 2.15 p.m. local time , it is expected to cross the official finish line , having proved that solar energy can power a boat all the way around the world .
since it set sail from monaco in september 2010 , the turanor planetsolar , the world ’s largest solar - powered boat has crossed the atlantic and the pacific , passed through the panama and suez canals and stopped in miami ; cancún , mexico ; brisbane , australia ; singapore ; abu dhabi and many places in between .
the goal , he said in a statement .
as i wrote not long after the planetsolar stopped in hong kong , where i am based , the boat was conceived as a test concept rather than something to be replicated for wide commercial use .
it took the 115 - foot boat 584 days -- roughly 19 month -- to make it all european pressphoto agency on friday , if all goes well , a sleek spaceship - like catamaran will glide into hercule harbor in monaco after a remarkable 19 - month journey around the globe .
once the arrival festivities are over , mr. domjan plans to take