Concordia Maritime is teaming up with Swedish scientists to study the amount of microplastics in the world's oceans.

The tanker owner plans to work with the Swedish Institute for the Marine Environment to establish how feasible gathering such information would be.

By installing a collection device on a tanker, water samples can be collected for analysis, Concordia said.

"The aim is to draw conclusions as to the extent, distribution of microplastics and potential consequences for living organisms," it said.