Take 10 #39: Safeguard

30 May 2025 The Navigator

Ten ways to safeguard whales and plan ahead to avoid vessel strikes

1 Critical creatures

Whales are an incredibly important part of our planet’s biodiversity and critical to our ocean sustainability – any damage to whales hurts us all and our planet.


2 Appreciation

Many mariners love the sight of whales and feel privileged to share the oceans with them, often alerting the crew when they are sighted in order to share the joy.


3 Knowledge

Seafarers often have a poor understanding of whale behaviour and the risks ships pose to whales. Unlike dolphins who play in the bow wave of a ship, whales can be unaware of the approach of a ship and are at risk from it.


4 Learn more

There are many resources listed in this issue of The Navigator and more are created and updated all the time.


5 Plan evasion

It’s better not to be in the same space as whales. Plan to avoid known positions and migration routes. Tools and sources of advice (not least the WWF map on pages 6 and 7) include Sailing Directions and local advisories.


6 Speed kills

When it is not possible to avoid areas with whales, speed reduction to at least 13 knots, or better yet 10 knots or less, give whales a better chance to avoid ships. If the worst does happen, it will reduce the impact of a strike.


7 Be vigilant

Whales are often just on or just under the surface and may be obscured by sea state or darkness – but a keen lookout might identify a whale ‘blowing’ or breaching.


8 Take advice

There are many whale protection areas and Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSA), both mandatory and voluntary. Please take part in in any schemes that are available to the best of your ability.


9 Voluntary participation

Where voluntary participation needs to be justified on a ‘commercial basis’, shipowners, managers and charterers should take into consideration the adverse consequences to their ship, in terms of loss of time, reputation and regulatory impact.


10 Share

Detecting and avoiding whales is a relatively new activity for merchant mariners, so please learn all you can about how this can be effective and share those ideas with your fellow mariners (mentoring), managers and the environmental community.


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