Global Shipping Companies Slow Down to Protect Whales
By Sarah Marquis
July 2023
Off the coast of California, nature’s gentle giants feed and travel through the ocean. Weighing 150 tons and spanning the length of three school buses, the blue whale is the largest animal ever to have existed on Earth. As a part-time resident of California waters, the blue whale follows enormous swarms of krill and other food sources to seek the tons of food it takes to fill its stomach.
Meanwhile, human-created giants of the sea—ships that stretch for four city blocks—carry cargo through the same waters. Ocean shipping helps deliver consumer goods necessary to meet the demands of millions of people, including food, footwear, clothing, furniture and motor vehicles.
When whales and cargo ships accidentally meet at sea, the result can be deadly for the whales. Is there a way to avoid ship strikes while supporting essential commerce?
Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies Program
Some global shipping companies have recognized the need to help ensure a safer environment for whales off the California coast by reducing speeds through the areas where whales are most likely to be. The concept is similar to the slow speed zones you see on roadways where children are at school or at play, except in the ocean and through voluntary compliance. Reducing speed not only helps protect whales, but also helps reduce air pollution and ocean noise, benefiting humans and the environment.
Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies program is a collaborative effort by NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuaries, California air pollution control districts, California Marine Sanctuary Foundation and other non-profit organizations. It is a voluntary vessel speed reduction program with a goal of safer whales, cleaner air, and a quieter ocean.
All four national marine sanctuaries in California participate: Greater Farallones, Cordell Bank, Monterey Bay, and Channel Islands. The annual program runs May through mid-December for vessels transiting in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Southern California region.
Shipping Companies Recognized
Shipping companies receive recognition based on the percentage of distance traveled by their vessels at 10 knots or less and with an average speed of 12 knots or less through vessel speed reduction (VSR) zones in and around sanctuaries.
Automatic identification system (AIS) transponders on each ship transmit the ship’s speed and location. AIS data is analyzed for each fleet and the company’s performance is classified by tier.
The three award tiers are Sapphire (85-100% of fleet total distance in VSR zones traveled at ten knots or less), Gold (60-84%), and Blue Sky (35-59%)
Twenty-three shipping companies participated in the Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies vessel speed reduction program in 2022, the largest number of companies since the program’s inception in 2014.
For the 2022 program year, eight participating companies reached the top-tier Sapphire level. They include Orient Overseas Container Line (OOCL), Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), Swire Shipping, Yang Ming, COSCO Shipping, NYK Ro-Ro, Wallenius Wilhelmsen, and CSL Group.
For the fifth year in a row, MSC notably achieved the Sapphire tier in the large fleet category and demonstrated that advance planning enables ships to adjust their schedule to cooperate with the VSR program without disrupting operations. OOCL, a new participant in the program, notably achieved a 95% cooperation level in 2022, reducing speeds to 10 knots or less for over 15,000 miles in the California zones.
Protecting Whales
The 10-knot target complements NOAA, U.S. Coast Guard, and Environmental Protection Agency requests for all vessels 300 gross tons or larger to reduce speeds during the months of peak air pollution and endangered blue, humpback, and fin whale abundance, to protect these whales from ship strikes.
Ship strikes are a major threat to whales globally and to the recovery of endangered blue, fin, and humpback whales in California waters. Reducing the risk of ship strikes is a major priority of NOAA’s national marine sanctuaries. From 2007-2022, observed and documented deaths off of California totaled 52 endangered whales. This is thought to represent only a small fraction of the total number of ship strikes taking place annually.
The transits of vessels participating in Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies posed approximately 44% less strike mortality risk to whales than if those vessels did not slow in cooperation with the program.
Bluer Skies
The timing of the program also coincides with the season when ground-level ozone (smog) concentrations are typically high. Ocean-going vessels transiting the California coast generate nitrogen oxides (a precursor to smog), sulfur oxides, particle pollution, and greenhouse gasses.
According to the California Air Resources Board, these vessels account for nearly 200 tons of nitrogen oxides per day emitted off the coast of California, which affects ozone levels onshore in many regions of the state. The 10-knot target allows ships to travel at an efficient operating load using less fuel and producing less pollution.
Shipping companies that participated in the 2022 program reduced their air pollutant emissions by approximately 920 tons of nitrogen oxides and 32,000 metric tons of regional greenhouse gasses. The nitrogen oxide reductions are equivalent to converting 580,000 passenger vehicles to zero emissions for a year.
Brand Ambassadors
Historically, companies and retail outlets that rely on ocean freight have little information about the regional environmental impacts of the ships carrying their products. Brands and retailers now have a way to be part of the solution alongside the shipping industry: the Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies Brand Ambassador Initiative.
The Brand Ambassador Initiative provides brands with information about their shipping companies’ participation in the Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies program and the resulting environmental benefits as they transit from their origin to the California coast.
Companies that have joined the Brand Ambassador Initiative are in a variety of industries spanning from coffee to consumer goods, united by their commitment to protect natural resources. Early companies on board include Sonos, Nomad Goods, Peak Design, Summit Coffee, Way Basics, Santa Cruz Bicycles, Who Gives a Crap, and the Port of Hueneme. Together, the eight Brand Ambassadors ship with 13 different shipping companies in the Blue Whales and Blue Skies program.
By becoming Brand Ambassadors, brands are recognized for their participation as they help drive the demand for more sustainable shipping practices. The goal is to increase shipping industry participation and improve conservation outcomes for whales, people, and the planet.
Sarah Marquis is the West Coast/Pacific Islands Media Coordinator for NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries