The Yellow Thing is a double-hulled floating vessel (like a catamaran

Catamaran

A catamaran is a type of multihulled boat or ship consisting of two hulls, or vakas, joined by some structure, the most basic being a frame, formed of akas...

), used by Greenpeace

Greenpeace

Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...

 to sample marine debris

Marine debris

Marine debris, also known as marine litter, is human created waste that has deliberately or accidentally become afloat in a lake, sea, ocean or waterway. Oceanic debris tends to accumulate at the centre of gyres and on coastlines, frequently washing aground, when it is known as beach litter or...

. As of 2006, its primary mission is to be used as a trawl for plastic samples in areas such as the Mediterranean Sea

Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...

 and the North Pacific Gyre

North Pacific Gyre

The North Pacific Gyre, located in the northern Pacific Ocean, is one of the five major oceanic gyres. This gyre comprises most of the northern Pacific Ocean. It is the largest ecosystem on our planet...

. It is not self-powered, rather it is towed via a ship-attached boom (as of 3-2006, it was being used on the MV Esperanza

MV Esperanza

MY Esperanza is a ship operated by Greenpeace. Previous to being a Greenpeace ship it was a fire-fighter owned by the Russian Navy, built in 1984. It was recommissioned in 2000 and launched in 2002 after being named Esperanza by visitors to the Greenpeace website. It had undergone a major refit...

). It is also considered to be relatively stable as a marine vehicle.