WAYPOINT - Spotting whales from space?

Space and AI technologies are increasingly able to provide information that helps mariners plan routes to avoid whales at sea – but old-fashioned look-out skills are still needed. George Shaw from the Royal Institute of Navigation investigates further.

In an ideal world, all whales would be continuously tracked so mariners can receive instant alerts about where they are. While this is currently impractical and uneconomic, technologies that support passage planning and situational awareness are evolving all the time.

Space technologies provide worldwide maritime coverage for satellite navigation, communications and remote vessel monitoring. Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, such as the ‘Argos’ constellation, actively track some radio-tagged whales, capturing whale migration routes to allow ‘blue corridor’ mapping that does not rely just on terrestrial sightings. However, LEO satellites ‘hug’ the plant closely (at altitudes of 160km to 2,000km), so they can only view any ocean area for a few minutes in each orbital period, which are typically between 90 minutes to two hours).

The proximity of LEO satellites supports very high definition optical imagery for sea areas in low-cloud daylight conditions. Efficient analysis of the multitude of images produced requires AI image recognition, harnessing the power of supercomputing and deep-learning to detect the presence of whales automatically, without the need to radio tag individual whales. AI processing of sequential images could track whale movements, improve mapping of ‘blue corridors’ and perhaps eventually provide regular dynamic updates of whale locations to help mariners avoid striking them in transit – if routes have not already been shifted in response.

As technology evolves to produce more detailed seasonal whale maps, this should improve confidence in accurate voyage planning to avoid whale strikes. Rapid detection of whales from space with powerful AI (complementing crowd-sourced sightings from vessels) could eventually support digital maritime services that update mariners at sea about whales’ locations in real time.

Visual look-out

Currently, however, if a passage plan requires the vessel to traverse a known whale area, reducing speed should make timely whale detection more likely. Since shipboard radar and AIS cannot spot whales, maintaining a consistent visual look-out is vital. Vessels equipped with combined optical/ thermal sensors (primarily for enhanced situational awareness) may also enhance mariners’ awareness of whales. However, such systems may not reliably alert against whales at a sufficient range for avoidance by themselves.

Thermal sensing of whale blows can work well at night or in poor visibility, as spouts tend to be more detectable than whales themselves. Thermal imaging with day/night high resolution and the ability to penetrate cloud is gradually emerging for LEO satellites and may eventually benefit whale observation.

In summary, despite exciting trends emerging in AI and satellite technology, diligent visual monitoring remains crucial for detecting whales close to the vessel. Observational skills can be honed by practice, experience and by using environmental and emotional cues. As with all navigation, avoiding whales requires mariners to use ‘all available information’ and to practise high levels of seamanship to keep whales and vessels safe at sea.