Hi-tech protection for whales

//Hi-tech protection for whales

whale.jpgWithin days of the grim discovery of a dead whale trapped on the bow of a cruise ship, one cruise line has announced a partnership with the WWF to help prevent similar incidents in the future.
A 43-ft long humpback whale (above) was found on the Sapphire Princess off the coast of Alaska on Wednesday as the ship was travelling from Ketchikan to Juneau.
The carcass was removed and taken away for examination. Like a fin whale found on the bow of the same ship last year, it is believed the creature was already dead when it was hit by the ship.
Ships are required to take precautions when travelling in the vicinity of whales, most of which are designated as endangered species, but despite their size the creatures do not show up on ordinary radar.
Now Costa Pacifica has become the first cruise ship to instal equipment designed to help reduce the risk of whale strikes. REPCET uses satellite technology to track whale movements and sightings, and can transmit warnings to vessels operating in the same area.
Costa Cruises has also joined up with the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission and Costa Pacifica will soon be the location of a brand new series of atmospheric measurements for monitoring climate change in the Mediterranean.
The ship is spending the summer on seven-day western Mediterranean cruises calling at Civitavecchia, Savona, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Tunis, Malta and Catania.

By | 2017-06-15T16:00:23+00:00 30 July 2010|Cruise News|1 Comment

About the Author:

John Honeywell is a travel writer specialising in cruise ships and cruise travel. Winner of CLIA UK's Contribution to Cruise award 2017.

One Comment

  1. Cruises 2 August 2010 at 4:25 pm - Reply

    I am glad Costa cruises have taken the initiative to install the new equipment but the most whale spotting occurs in Alaska region or the transatlantic and Costa Pacific does neither of those itineraries. Maybe they are doing ti so other cruise lines follow?

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