Pete Bethune
Birth Name:
Peter James Bethune
Profession
Producer
Fast Facts
- Was involved with the nonprofit marine conservation organizations Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, but eventually disassociated himself from the organization and founded his own, Earthrace Conservation
- Attended the University of Waikato, where he studied science, and the University of Auckland, where he studied engineering
- Co-founded CamSensor Technologies, which manufactured automated camera systems for controlling robots used in complex tasks
- Started his career working in the North Sea and Libya as an oil exploration engineer
- While pursuing a Master of Business Administration degree from Macquarie University, he wrote a 20,000-word paper about the use of renewable energy for road transport
- A conservationist and promoter of bio-fuels, he is known for breaking the record for circumnavigation by powerboat by using only sustainable bio-fuels
- Has appeared in a number of television programs pertaining to marine conservation
- Bethune and two of his crewmates underwent liposuction in order to convert their own body fat into fuel as a publicity stunt during his circumnavigation
- Captained the Ady Gil, previously the Earthrace, until it sank following a collision with a Japanese whaling vessel
- Declined a $4 million sponsorship from a company that would have required him to use regular diesel instead of sustainable bio-fuels to fuel his circumnavigation attempts