A US cruise line claims to be the first to support a computer-based initiative helping to find a cure for corornvirus.
Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line is dedicating its unused computing power while sailings are suspended to help researchers.
The line, majority-owned by the family of former Norwegian Cruise Line boss Kevin Sheehan, is calling on its industry partners and peers to lend their own resources, joining the fight against Covid-19.
Folding @ Home is a distributed computing project that helps researchers conduct simulations to analyse the protein folding process and movements in various diseases, including Covid-19.
Scientists can use donated computing power from anywhere in the world to run simulations, study the virus, and find a vaccine. The software is free and available to download for Windows, Mac, and Linux.
The line joined the project in early April and has donated computer resources from its offices, as well as its ships Grand Classica and Grand Celebration.
But researchers need access to more computing power to find a cure.
Oneil Khosa, chief executive of Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line, said: “The Covid-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented global impact, and when we learned about the unique Folding @ Home initiative, we immediately knew we had to help.
“We have an enormous amount of idle computing power at hand, given our ships are currently restricted from their normal operations, and this programme gives us a way to utilise those resources, helping researchers who are working around the clock to find a coronavirus cure.
“We’re proud to be part of this project, and we are asking our industry partners and peers to commit their resources to the effort, so we can help save lives, most importantly, while also putting the tourism industry on a path to recovery.
“Now more than ever, the travel industry needs to band together and donate our resources to help researchers find a vaccine and successfully end this pandemic.”