“The initial data is very interesting.”

Thousands of whales every year mortally struck ships in oceans that are becoming increasingly crowded and commercialized. Fortunately, according to Phys.org, researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Massachusetts has developed a solution to keep these gentle giants safe—ship-mounted cameras that can detect whales from a distance.

The cameras use thermal imaging. technology to spot whales disturbing the surface by swimming or blowing their noses. Images from the cameras are fed into an integrated artificial intelligence system trained to distinguish the surface activity of whales as opposed to boats, waves or other marine animals.

WITH technologywhales can be spotted several miles away, giving captains time to change course or slow the ship.

Hawaii-based Matson Navigation Company is already testing cameras on three of its container ships. One vessel reported 1,169 sightings of whales and dolphins in its first three months of use; some of the whales were as far away as 6,500 meters (four miles).

“This initial data is very exciting for our team as it gives us real insight into how well the infrared thermal imaging system performs on a large container ship platform.” said Daniel Zitterbart, WHOI scientist.

More than 20,000 whales are hit by ships and are killed every year around the world. WHOI further clarified that approximately 80 endangered whales are killed each year off the West Coast of the United States alone.

Some particularly busy commercial routes send ships along the US West Coast to HawaiiThey find themselves in the middle of migratory routes used by at least 16 different whale species, according to WHOI.

“We are committed to acting in an environmentally responsible manner, and this includes finding ways to reduce the risk of whale strikes.” said Matt Cox, Chairman and CEO of Matson. “Our ships sail in some of the most pristine areas of the Pacific Ocean, and we look forward to working with Woods Hole on other projects that benefit the environment.”

“Thermal imaging systems are a powerful tool for detecting whales in real time,” Zitterbart said. “Used alone or in combination with other proven defenses such as passive acoustic monitoring, this technology can significantly reduce the risk of ship strikes and become a positive force in the protection of marine animals.”

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