The Royal Belgian Shipowners’ Association (KBRV) placed an inflatable whale of some 26 metres in front of Antwerp Central Station. With the action, the KBRV is drawing attention to unintentional collisions between ships and whales.
Not only does the KBRV want to support the organisation WhaleeGuardians, at the same time it also presents recommendations for shipping to avoid collisions with whales. Indeed, ship collisions, also known as ‘ship strikes’, are one of the biggest known threats to whales.
With the #MakeWayForWhales campaign, KBRV wants to create awareness and see what the shipping industry can do to prevent these unintentional collisions (no one is ultimately at fault).
To draw attention to these ‘ship strikes’, a giant replica of a blue whale was placed right in front of the entrance to Antwerp Central Station on Thursday afternoon, 13 June 2024, which already attracted a lot of attention from the many passers-by, commuters and visitors to the Plug and Play Maritime Expo nearby.
One of the recommendations within the KBRV’s campaign is a proposal to integrate whale detection databases into ship navigation software. This would allow, for example, helmsmen to receive alerts when whale populations may be near the ship. That way, the ship could opt for an alternative route or reduce speed. Antwerp-based digital mapping specialist Bogerd Martin has already worked out a first proof of concept on this.
Whale aware
Furthermore, the KBRV wants to make crew members on board ships ‘whale aware’. Among others, the World Cetacean Alliance has set up an online training to reduce the impact of ship encounters and boat disturbances on cetaceans. The World Cetacean Alliance is the world’s largest marine life conservation partnership. The alliance works globally with more than 100 partners in 35 countries around the world to help protect whales, dolphins, porpoises and their habitats.
KBRV is also calling on shipping companies to follow the example of Antwerp-based shipping company Cobelfret NV. Cobelfret NV is an active member of the organisation WhaleGuardians. Among other things, Sveto Todorov, head of Handy Operations at Cobelfret NV, gives specific instructions to captains to ensure the safety of sea giants. Finally, the KBRV suggests, among other things, having whale-specific clauses included in commercial agreements.
European tour
The action in Antwerp also immediately kicked off an entire European tour that the inflatable whale ‘Star’ will be making from now on. This autumn, the whale will return to Belgium for the regional conservation conference of IUCN in Bruges.
Earlier this week, the Smart Port Week at Antwerp’s innovation hub, The Beacon, already zoomed in on the issue of unintentional whale collisions.
