N
icholas Sloane doesn’t mind
discomfort. The 56-year-old South
Africanmarine-salvagemasterhassurvived
twohelicoptercrashesandspentthousands
ofhoursaboardshipsthatareburning,sink-
ing,breakingapart,orleakingoil,chemicals,
orcargointotheocean.Often,hegetscalls
inthemiddleofthenightaskinghimtopack
hisbagsandflyimmediatelytoa disaster
zoneacrosstheworld,anywherefromYemen
toPapuaNewGuinea.Twice,he’sfoughtoff
armedpiratesusingwatercannons,sound
cannons,andstrobelights.
Usually,Sloaneroomsonlocation,bunk-
ingin makeshiftbedsaboardsingedorwater-
loggedshipshe’sworkingtorescue.Heonce
livedforthreemonthswitha familyonTristan
daCunha,theworld’smostremoteinhab-
itedarchipelago,orchestratingthelogistics
ofcatchingandwashingthousandsofrock-
hopper penguinsdrenchedinbunkerfuel
froma shipwreck.Morerecently,hespent
2 ½ yearsoverseeingthealmost$1billion
refloatingoftheCostaConcordia, theinfa-
mousItaliancruiseshipthatcapsizedinside
a marinesanctuaryoffthecoastofTuscany,
killing 32 passengers.
Butatsomepointearlylastyear,Sloane
reallywantedtotakea bathandcouldn’t.
HewashomewithhisfamilyinCapeTown,
whichhadrecentlydeclaredanemergency:
Afterthreeyearsofseveredrought,thecity
of 4 millionwasatriskofbecomingoneof
thefirstintheworldtorunoutofmunici-
palwater.Toforestalla shutoff,eachhouse-
hold waspermitted only 50 liters—about
13 gallons—perday perpersonto cover
drinking,cooking,washing,andshowers.
“That’senoughtofilllessthanhalfa tub,”
saysSloane,a soft-spokenmanwithgraying
hair,ruddyskin,anda deepcreasebetween
hisgreeneyes.“Mywifeusedtotakea bath
everynightanda showereverymorning.She
toldme,‘You’dbetterdosomething.’”
Morethana yearlater,disasterhasbeen
averted,thankstobadlyneededrainfalland
drasticreductioninwateruse.Butcondi-
tions inCape Townremainfarfrom nor-
mal.Thedaily-uselimithasbeenraised,but
onlyto 70 liters,andpeoplestilltakespeed
showers,collecting therunofftousefor
toiletflushing.Somehotelshaveremoved
stoppersfrombathtubstokeepprofligate
tourists in line.And farmers throughoutthe countryarereeling.Morethan30,000
seasonaljobshavebeenlostintheWestern
Cape,andcropproductionhasdeclinedby
about20%.Duringtheheightofthedrought,
hundredsoffarmersintheNorthernCape
killedoffmostoftheirlivestockratherthan
truckincostlyfeed.“Everyonehascutback
theirflocksofsheeptothebareminimum
neededtostartagainwhenit rains,”one
farmertoldBloombergNewsin2017.
Sloanestillhasn’ttakenthatbathathome,
andheisn’toptimisticaboutCapeTown’s
future. “We’llnevergetbacktothe days
wherewateris flowingallovertheCape,”he
says,pointingoutthatthecity’spopulation
hasgrownalmost40%inthelast 20 years.“If
thetapsrundry,thefirstdaypeoplewillbe
standinginlinesatwateringpointsthrough-
outthecity.Thesecondday,if youdon’tget
yourwater,well,peoplearekilledforthat.”
That’swhySloaneisworkingona solu-
tionthatmightsoundabsurd.Makinguse
ofhisunusualskillset,heplanstoharness
andtowanenormousAntarcticicebergto
SouthAfricaandconvertit intomunicipal
water.“Tomakeit economicallyfeasible,
theicebergwillhavetobebig,”Sloanesays.
Ideally,it wouldmeasureabout1,000meters
(3,281feet) long, 500 meters wide, and
250 metersdeep,andweigh 125 milliontons.
“Thatwouldsupplyabout20%ofCapeTown’s
waterneedsfora year.”
Sloanehasalreadyassembleda teamof
glaciologists, oceanographers,and engi-
neers.He’salsosecureda groupoffinanciers
tofundthepioneertow,whichhecallsthe
SouthernIceProject.Theexpectedcostis
morethan$200million,muchofit tobeputup
bytwoSouthAfricanbanksandWaterVision
AG,a Swisswatertechnologyandinfrastruc-
turecompany.
NowSloane’steamneedsanagreement
withSouthAfricatobuytheAntarcticwater,
if theplansucceeds.Histeamcouldcharter
thenecessaryshipsandprepareallrequired
materialswithinsixmonths, though the mis-
sion will need to take place in November or
December, when the Antarctic climate is
somewhat less ferocious. “We’re taking on
all the risk,” he says. “We’re ready to go.”H
arvesting icebergs isn’t a new idea.
In the mid-1800s, breweries in Chile
towed small ones, sometimes outfitted withBloomberg Businessweek | Sooner Than You Think June 10, 2019PREVIOUS SPREAD: CAMILLE SEAMAN66