Panama Canal Calls on Ships to Protect Marine Life as Nearby Annual Migration Begins

[Judi Lynn]

August 19, 2022



Starting August 1, 2022, through November 30, 2022, the Panama Canal is calling on vessels to follow annual speed and navigational measures to prevent collisions with whales, dolphins, and other large aquatic mammals beginning their seasonal migration nearby the waterway.

Vessels sailing to and from the Canal during this period are asked to stay within designated navigation areas known as Traffic Separation Schemes (TSS), which minimize areas of overlap between vessels and migrating marine life. The annual measures set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) also require that vessels entering or exiting the Canal via the Pacific Ocean keep their speed at or below 10 knots, a practice known as Vessel Speed Reduction (VSR).

“As facilitators of global maritime trade, it is our responsibility to minimize the environmental impacts of our operations,” said Panama Canal Administrator Ricaurte Vásquez Morales. “These measures represent some of the simple, yet critical ways the Panama Canal and shipping lines must work together to ensure a more sustainable future for world commerce.”

Since the TSS measures were introduced in 2014, the likelihood of serious incidents has decreased considerably for vessels and marine life, including for humpback whales, which migrate from northern and southern latitudes during their winter season to Panama’s warm waters to give birth and to raise their calves. According to the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI), ship strikes are among the most concerning human threats to whale populations, though lowering vessel speed can give the mammals sufficient time to respond and avoid collisions with vessels, while also allowing vessels to stop or maneuver accordingly. A STRI study confirmed that fatal accidents between whales and vessels were 38 percent lower between 2017 and 2019 when compared between 2009 and 2011, before the TSS measures were implemented.

More:
https://shipmanagementinternational.com/panama-canal-calls-on-ships-to-protect-marine-life-as-nearby-annual-migration-begins/

[The Roux Comes First]

1. I Wholly Support These Vessel Control Measures, But

I am agog over the idea that even medium-sized mammals, never mind large ones, are even occasional occupants of the canal proper. Does anyone know of information on this?

It would be a revelation to learn that the breach of Central America has provided an important new biological pathway. I don't doubt the possibility for smaller creatures, but it is the biggies I am curious about. It's a long swim, with I suspect pretty significant saline gradients and so much else to deal with.