Educational boat drifting Shetland’s way after trip across Atlantic

A SMALL boat created by marine scientists in the US could soon land on Shetland’s shores.

Conscriptus was launched by students at the Brien McMahon High School in Connecticut in May last year.

The unmanned boat has a tracker inside and the aim of the project was to give students experience in marine industry and science.

But after spending more than 200 days at sea the boat is drifting towards Shetland, hundreds of miles away from where it was launched off the east coast of the US.

It may miss the isles depending on how the sea flow goes, but islanders are being asked to keep an eye out should it wash up.

The school’s marine science academy coordinator Eva Bartush told Shetland News that the students were in tenth grade when they built the boat.

“Students worked for several weeks in different teams with a variety of responsibilities to contribute to the completion of the boat,” she said.

“It was a really incredible program that taught the students teamwork and a wide variety of skills.”

People can track the location of the boat on this webpage.