The Green Team is the seventh entry into the Volvo Ocean Race, and Ireland's first since the ill-fated NCB Ireland in 1989. Double Olympic medallist Ian Walker will take his place as skipper, while the custom-built Volvo Open 70 has been completed and is currently making its way from China.

The completed Green Team Volvo Open 70-footer at McConaghy's yard in Zhuhai, China with the members of the 90-strong build crew with the Green Team's Enda O'Coineen (left) Eamon Conneely, skipper Ian Walker and CEO Jamie Boag (front). Photo: Guy Nowell/Green Team.

Ian Walker's achievements in the last 12 years include two Olympic medals, four World Championships and being skipper and tactician for two America's Cup campaigns (GBR Challenge and +39). His most recent success has been as skipper of the TP52 Patches where he worked alongside owner Éamon Conneely to secure the global championship in 2006.

The boat has been constructed in a facility located approximately 60 miles north of Hong Kong. The mainly Australian-led team at McConaghy's worked alongside American designers Reichel Pugh and structural engineers Applied Structural Analysis Ltd (ASTA) from the UK, as well as a 90-strong Chinese build team. A total of 40,000 man hours went into the completion of this boat,

This is the first Volvo Ocean Race boat to be built in China; a region that has seen increased interest in the marine industry in recent years, most noticeably with its involvement in the 2007 America's Cup. McConaghy's has a strong international reputation, and they are one of the first professional build teams to have a facility in China. "China is a growth market for our industry at the moment," commented Mark Evans, Director McConaghy Boats China. "The standard of quality on this build has been second to none".

Green Team CEO Jamie Boag was enthusiastic about the boat's completion: "It is fantastic to see the boat completed. The work ethic we experienced when building the TP52 'Patches' here in 2007 with McConaghy was superb. As we were late in the production of this boat it was crucial that it would be completed on time, something we were confident McConaghy Boats could deliver. China is an amazing place. If you want something manufactured or sourced, it can be done really quickly to a very high standard."

With the build now complete the boat is being shipped back to Europe, with an anticipated arrival in the UK for the start of June. Once in the UK the boat will be assembled and tested for two weeks before heading to Galway, which will be the team's base before leaving for Alicante in September.

Skipper Ian Walker was equally happy with the speed and skill of the boat's build: "This boat has been seven months in the making and we've had a fantastic team working on this project. I would like to thank everybody in the project, but especially those involved in the hard graft here in China. I am confident that we have a great boat and will have a competitive entry into the race. I cannot wait to get her back to Europe and out on the water to start preparing for the adventure ahead of us all."

Glenn Bourke, former CEO of the Volvo Ocean Race said: "It is fabulous to have another super-professional team skippered by an Olympic medallist entered in the race. After months of knowing about this team, it is wonderful that it is now formally announced. Ian Walker is a high profile skipper who will put together a professional campaign.

"We now have a fleet of seven boats, the same number as the previous iteration of the race, but higher still in calibre. We can never predict whether the numbers might increase, but with the possible postponement of the America's Cup there are now a couple of possibilities."

Bourke has since been replaced by Norwegian Knut Frostad, who took over in February.

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