||| FROM WORKBOAT.COM |||
Organizers of Washington State’s Quiet Sound project say they have recruited more vessel operators to the second year of a voluntary, seasonal slowdown of shipping to help protected endangered killer whales in Puget Sound.
Organized by Washington Maritime Blue, a broad cooperative effort by maritime businesses, environmental groups, tribes and shipping operators, Quiet Sound seeks voluntary speed limits when killer whales are on the move between Admiralty Inlet and Puget Sound.
During the 2022-23 season, 53% of vessels met the recommended speed targets: 14.5 knots or less for vehicle carriers, cruise ships, and container vessels, and 11 knots or less for bulk carriers and tankers.
During the first six weeks of the current slowdown period that started Oct. 12, 63% of vessels were able to meet recommended speed targets, a 10% increase from last season.
Moreover, organizers say, this was the first season that the voluntary slowdown overlapped with cruise season. Of 26 cruise ship transits in the area, 22 vessels or 85 percent participated in the slowdown.
The current slowdown is in effect until Jan. 12 and takes place in the inbound and outbound lanes of the shipping lanes. The Whale Report Alert System or WRAS, a smartphone app developed for Quiet Sound, alerts mariners within a 1-nautical mile radius when local whale sightings are reported by the project’s partners.
