The right whale mandatory ship reporting system: a retrospective
In 1998, the United States sought and received International Maritime Organization-endorsement of two Mandatory Ship Reporting (MSR) systems designed to improve mariner awareness about averting ship collisions with the endangered North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis). Vessel collisions ar...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:e59616c0546e46b6a46e08924a233b4b 2024-01-07T09:43:02+01:00 The right whale mandatory ship reporting system: a retrospective Gregory K. Silber Jeffrey D. Adams Michael J. Asaro Timothy V.N. Cole Katie S. Moore Leslie I. Ward-Geiger Barbara J. Zoodsma 2015-03-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.866 https://doaj.org/article/e59616c0546e46b6a46e08924a233b4b EN eng PeerJ Inc. https://peerj.com/articles/866.pdf https://peerj.com/articles/866/ https://doaj.org/toc/2167-8359 doi:10.7717/peerj.866 2167-8359 https://doaj.org/article/e59616c0546e46b6a46e08924a233b4b PeerJ, Vol 3, p e866 (2015) Endangered whale US energy imports North Atlantic right whale Ship collisions International Maritime Organization Shipping industry Medicine R Biology (General) QH301-705.5 article 2015 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.866 2023-12-10T01:51:35Z In 1998, the United States sought and received International Maritime Organization-endorsement of two Mandatory Ship Reporting (MSR) systems designed to improve mariner awareness about averting ship collisions with the endangered North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis). Vessel collisions are a serious threat to the right whale and the program was among the first formal attempts to reduce this threat. Under the provisions of the MSR, all ships >300 gross tons are required to report their location, speed, and destination to a shore-based station when entering two key right whale habitats: one in waters off New England and one off coastal Georgia and Florida. In return, reporting ships receive an automatically-generated message, delivered directly to the ship’s bridge, that provides information about right whale vulnerability to vessel collisions and actions mariners can take to avoid collisions. The MSR has been in operation continuously from July 1999 to the present. Archived incoming reports provided a 15-plus year history of ship operations in these two locations. We analyzed a total of 26,772 incoming MSR messages logged between July 1999 and December 2013. Most ships that were required to report did so, and compliance rates were generally constant throughout the study period. Self-reported vessel speeds when entering the systems indicated that most ships travelled between 10 and 16 (range = 5–20 +) knots. Ship speeds generally decreased in 2009 to 2013 following implementation of vessel speed restrictions. The number of reports into the southern system remained relatively constant following a steady increase through 2007, but numbers in the northern system decreased annually beginning in 2008. If reporting is indicative of long-term patterns in shipping operations, it reflects noteworthy changes in marine transportation. Observed declines in ship traffic are likely attributable to the 2008–2009 economic recession, the containerized shipping industry making increased use of larger ships that made ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Eubalaena glacialis North Atlantic North Atlantic right whale Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles PeerJ 3 e866 |
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op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
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topic |
Endangered whale US energy imports North Atlantic right whale Ship collisions International Maritime Organization Shipping industry Medicine R Biology (General) QH301-705.5 |
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Endangered whale US energy imports North Atlantic right whale Ship collisions International Maritime Organization Shipping industry Medicine R Biology (General) QH301-705.5 Gregory K. Silber Jeffrey D. Adams Michael J. Asaro Timothy V.N. Cole Katie S. Moore Leslie I. Ward-Geiger Barbara J. Zoodsma The right whale mandatory ship reporting system: a retrospective |
topic_facet |
Endangered whale US energy imports North Atlantic right whale Ship collisions International Maritime Organization Shipping industry Medicine R Biology (General) QH301-705.5 |
description |
In 1998, the United States sought and received International Maritime Organization-endorsement of two Mandatory Ship Reporting (MSR) systems designed to improve mariner awareness about averting ship collisions with the endangered North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis). Vessel collisions are a serious threat to the right whale and the program was among the first formal attempts to reduce this threat. Under the provisions of the MSR, all ships >300 gross tons are required to report their location, speed, and destination to a shore-based station when entering two key right whale habitats: one in waters off New England and one off coastal Georgia and Florida. In return, reporting ships receive an automatically-generated message, delivered directly to the ship’s bridge, that provides information about right whale vulnerability to vessel collisions and actions mariners can take to avoid collisions. The MSR has been in operation continuously from July 1999 to the present. Archived incoming reports provided a 15-plus year history of ship operations in these two locations. We analyzed a total of 26,772 incoming MSR messages logged between July 1999 and December 2013. Most ships that were required to report did so, and compliance rates were generally constant throughout the study period. Self-reported vessel speeds when entering the systems indicated that most ships travelled between 10 and 16 (range = 5–20 +) knots. Ship speeds generally decreased in 2009 to 2013 following implementation of vessel speed restrictions. The number of reports into the southern system remained relatively constant following a steady increase through 2007, but numbers in the northern system decreased annually beginning in 2008. If reporting is indicative of long-term patterns in shipping operations, it reflects noteworthy changes in marine transportation. Observed declines in ship traffic are likely attributable to the 2008–2009 economic recession, the containerized shipping industry making increased use of larger ships that made ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Gregory K. Silber Jeffrey D. Adams Michael J. Asaro Timothy V.N. Cole Katie S. Moore Leslie I. Ward-Geiger Barbara J. Zoodsma |
author_facet |
Gregory K. Silber Jeffrey D. Adams Michael J. Asaro Timothy V.N. Cole Katie S. Moore Leslie I. Ward-Geiger Barbara J. Zoodsma |
author_sort |
Gregory K. Silber |
title |
The right whale mandatory ship reporting system: a retrospective |
title_short |
The right whale mandatory ship reporting system: a retrospective |
title_full |
The right whale mandatory ship reporting system: a retrospective |
title_fullStr |
The right whale mandatory ship reporting system: a retrospective |
title_full_unstemmed |
The right whale mandatory ship reporting system: a retrospective |
title_sort |
right whale mandatory ship reporting system: a retrospective |
publisher |
PeerJ Inc. |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.866 https://doaj.org/article/e59616c0546e46b6a46e08924a233b4b |
genre |
Eubalaena glacialis North Atlantic North Atlantic right whale |
genre_facet |
Eubalaena glacialis North Atlantic North Atlantic right whale |
op_source |
PeerJ, Vol 3, p e866 (2015) |
op_relation |
https://peerj.com/articles/866.pdf https://peerj.com/articles/866/ https://doaj.org/toc/2167-8359 doi:10.7717/peerj.866 2167-8359 https://doaj.org/article/e59616c0546e46b6a46e08924a233b4b |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.866 |
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PeerJ |
container_volume |
3 |
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e866 |
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