We’re asking that ships travelling to and from European ports slow their speeds to reduce ocean noise, risk of collisions with whales, and greenhouse gas emissions. Join us in demanding blue speeds for a safer and quieter ocean for whales by adding your signature to the Blue Speeds petition.
Many of Europe’s busiest shipping lanes overlap directly with areas where whales are feeding, giving birth, nursing their young or travelling. Both the number of ships and the speeds at which they can travel are increasing dramatically in our waters.
Ships moving at high speeds create high levels of underwater noise and also put whales at high risk of collision, causing unnecessary stress, injury and death. We cannot let this continue.
These beautiful and majestic animals rely on sound for survival; communicating with one another, finding food, avoiding predators and navigating, and this disruptive underwater noise drowns out natural sounds and causes them stress. IFAW has identified a realistic and impactful solution to make the seas safer for marine animals: reduced shipping speeds.
Join us today, to protect whales and their fragile and beautiful ecosystem in European waters.
We are requesting a small change with a big outcome
Globally, we know that by reducing ship speeds by just 10%, we can:
- Reduce ocean noise pollution from shipping by around 40%,
- Reduce the risk of ships colliding with whales by about 50%, and
- Lower greenhouse gas emissions from shipping by 13%.
As a first step towards these positive outcomes, we call on the EU institutions to adopt Blue Speeds – an EU-wide measure for the implementation of slower ship speeds (a 75% maximum ship design speed ceiling) – as a condition of entry into European ports.
Sign the Blue Speeds petition to support our call to slow speeds and protect whales!