Whaling is thought to have killed and processed an estimated 2.9 million<\/a> large whales during the 20th century. The industry left several species on the brink of extinction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Following the global \u201cSave the Whales\u201d campaign and public outcry, hunting of these marine mammals stopped in all but a few outlier countries. The ban has allowed populations of many species to recover<\/a>, particularly humpback, grey and bowhead whales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n These recovering populations are particularly at risk from ships, however. Behaviours such as surfacing to feed and breath, slow movement, and a reliance on sonic over visual information all expose them to danger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2020, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) analysed its own ship-strike database to conclude that 605 \u201cdefinite\u201d strikes occurred between 1820 and 2019. Data on ship strikes is thought to be a huge underestimate, however. Collisions between whales and large ships are often undetected, while carcasses of large species disappear down to the ocean floor. In its 2020 analysis, the IWC concluded that \u201cship strikes are notoriously underreported and underestimated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n If action to prevent collisions is not stepped up, conservationists fear the worst for species whose populations are already on the edge. That includes the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale, which has only 400 individuals remaining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dialogue Earth consulted Michael Moore, who directs the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution\u2019s Marine Mammal Center in the US. He says ship strikes are especially risky for species with small populations, but the threat is \u201cvery significant\u201d for all large whale species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHumpback whales are less endangered than North Atlantic Right whales, but the premature loss of individuals \u2013 of any species \u2013 undercuts their ability to thrive,\u201d says Moore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Efforts to reduce the risk ships pose to whales have typically involved vessels avoiding locations known to be frequented by the animals, and slowing down, giving whales time to move, or at least lowering the force of collisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2022, a group of researchers in the US published their analysis<\/a> of seasonal voluntary speed reductions on the east coast of North America, which were designed to protect North Atlantic right whales. They concluded that, when ships reduced speeds to 10 knots or less, the risk of fatal collisions fell by 50%. This compares to an almost 90% chance of a fatal collision for speeds of over 15 knots. But the study also says not enough ships complied with the voluntary rules, meaning the collision rate is likely still too high for the North Atlantic right whale to avoid extinction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One study<\/a> suggests that a 10% reduction in speed across the global shipping fleet could reduce the risk of whale collisions by around 50%. It points out this would also cut greenhouse gas emissions and noise pollution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Campaigners want to see a global expansion of ship re-routing and speed reductions. According to a 2024 collision-risk study led by the University of Washington, US, this type of protection currently covers less than 7%<\/a> of collision hotspots \u2013 those areas of the ocean where the risk of a collision is within the top 1% globally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The study also found that mandatory \u2013 as opposed to voluntary \u2013 measures to protect whales in these hotspots were basically non-existent. The authors noted that expanding vessel speed limits across an additional 2.6% of the ocean\u2019s surface would cover all collision hotspots.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many NGOs want regulation rather than voluntary measures. The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and others are campaigning for a mandatory 5-10% reduction in vessel speeds in all European waters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShipping companies tell us that voluntary measures don’t work because they distort competition. Clients will always choose the fastest company so, if they apply voluntary speed reductions, they will be shooting themselves in the foot,\u201d says Aurore Morin, a marine conservation campaigner at IFAW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Others disagree, including the vice president for environment and climate at the World Shipping Council (WSC), Bryan Wood-Thomas. A member of the International Whaling Commission\u2019s expert panel on vessel strikes, Wood-Thomas says reducing speed and closing areas to ships is not always practical. He cites proposals for mandatory ship rerouting in the US to avoid the Santa Barbara Channel off the California coast, which were not possible due to a nearby naval testing area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wood-Thomas also says many ships produce significantly more air pollution when travelling below 10 knots. Design changes could reduce this, but it would take many years to be effective due to the long lifetime of most vessels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One challenge for ship operators is having information about routing and speed measures at their fingertips, particularly in areas where this can change depending on whale activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2023, the WSC launched the Whale Chart<\/a>. This voyage planning aid consolidates all that information in one place for the first time. The organisation now wants to digitise this and enable automatic information downloads for new areas. Wood-Thomas says this would be \u201ca huge step forward\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Recent years have seen the launch of a plethora of technology-based solutions to ship strikes. These are typically aimed at detecting whales more effectively than using spotters on ships to alert navigators. In theory, these could allow ships to continue moving through waters commonly frequented by whales without slowing down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Researchers at Rutgers University in the US have combined<\/a> underwater robots with acoustic sensors and artificial intelligence to help reroute cargo ships away from whales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute is also developing<\/a> acoustic whale-detection technology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another product under development at the institute uses thermal imaging to detect whale breath. Identifications are verified before being passed onto ship captains, according to Daniel Zitterbart, an associate scientist at the institute. His team has developed thermal-imaging technology, the use of which has proliferated from 89 whale detections in 2019 to more than 50,000 in 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though it is not possible to interpret from that exactly how many whales are being avoided, future research could analyse the circumstances where detection did not lead to evasive action, says Zitterbart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some think such technologies are often overhyped. Experts maintain that technology needs to be used in tandem with operational changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShipping companies want to implement nice, shiny technologies instead of the operational changes that we know work,\u201d says Morin, who calls them \u201cnice diversions\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Such technologies may only work effectively during the daytime. They can also fail to provide sufficient notice for large ships such as container vessels, Morin adds, because these need 30-40 minutes to change direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As shipping and whale numbers continue to grow, gathering data on their overlap is vital to understanding the problem and potential solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n IFAW\u2019s Whale Alert mobile app enables users to report and track whale sightings to authorities and shipping vessels. It estimates the risk of a collision and has been operational in North America since 2012, where it has been downloaded 150,000 times and logged around 30,000 whales. After launching in Europe in June last year, there have been several thousand downloads so far, according to Morin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Though measuring avoided collisions is challenging, IFAW is researching how it could be done. \u201cIt\u2019s important to note that improving our ability to detect and predict marine mammal presence is still itself very limited \u2013 and efforts like Whale Alert also improve this knowledge the more widely they are used,\u201d says Morin.<\/p>\n\n\n\nSpeed kills<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"ship](\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/ship-struck-dead-humpback-whale_Alamy_2NYEAER.jpg\")
<\/div>Techno-fix scepticism<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Shipping companies want to implement nice, shiny technologies instead of the operational changes that we know work<\/blockquote>Aurore Morin, International Fund for Animal Welfare<\/cite><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
Tracking the problem<\/h2>\n\n\n\n