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It is a novel operation, which maintains their eco-friendly brand, and today, the invited the press to find out exactly how it will work. 7News attended the official launch, and Daniel Ortiz has that story:

This vessel is called the Mangrove Maiden. It belongs to the McIntosh family, which also owns the Caribbean Shrimp Company in Ladyville. It's might be one of a kind, or certainly very unique here in Belize.

Every element of this vessel is powered by solar energy.

Heather McIntosh - General Manager, Caribbean Shrimp Company
"It let's us use the sun to [provide] power. So, there are no emissions. There are are no chemicals. There are no fuel. None of that. We just let the sun charge our batteries. We run electric motors, So, It's very quiet, very natural."

"What's really unique about this boat is because it's electrically powered, it's silent, but also lets us - if we see some thing interesting, we can stop and just kind of gently float along. People get good photos. We have an opportunity to point it out, talk about it a little bit about it if we wish."

It was designed and built by the head of the McIntosh family, Charles McIntosh. He is now its captain, for this new enterprise that the family is now embarking on.

Heather McIntosh
"I'm very very proud, pleased and grateful that we have this opportunity to launch the first ever solar-powered Mangrove Maiden lagoon tour for here in Belize."

For the Caribbean Shrimp Company, the mangrove forests around their farms are sacred. They say that the mangroves make their jobs as shrimp farmers easier.

Heather McIntosh
"For us, the mangrove is what makes our farms successful. The mangrove is what filters our water. The mangrove is what holds our ponds together, so we don't have erosion. It's extremely important. So, we thought, why not take that a step further, and give our guests, our students, our young people, everyone a chance to see it up close."

The launch of this lagoon tour now allows them to do just that.

Heather McIntosh
"The way it works is you come on to our property, where there's lots more to do than just the boat."

"But, for those visiting us, they could also buy the tickets to do the tour. It's about an hour long, and it take you all the way through this internal Mangrove lagoon, out to the sea and back. And while you're on the tour, you'll see a lot of birds. We actually have quite a few rare and unique birds here. We're one of the top birding destinations in the whole country. You'll see crocodiles. You'll see fish, all kinds of natural things, butterflies, bats, and just mangrove in a way you haven't seen it bore. We did a trip the other day with some tour guides, and they couldn't believe the size of the mangrove. They'd never seen one that big. So, it's a very mature mangrove forest that you rarely would have that opportunity to get right up close to it."

The McIntosh family then took the press on the lagoon tour as their first group of guests. It was very much as serene and as picturesque as they described it to be. The mangrove forest lay untouched and sprawling all around us. We even caught glimpses of a few of the birds they talked about. The channel through the forest led straight out to the Caribbean Sea.

Heather McIntosh
"This channel is a natural channel. It actually has this really beautiful lake in the middle, and when we spoke with some educated archaeological type folks, they think that the Mayans might have actually made it a little bit that way, so that it would work for them."

The McIntosh family will operate the tour on the weekends until January. If you would like to book a tour, you can call their office at the telephone number 225-3360, or 615-3318.