Update routing recommendations Mejillones, Chile

Since the early 2000s, multiple scientific reports have been made of sightings of great whales (blue, fin and humpback) in Mejillones bay. The oceanographic opwelling is observed along the coast of the Mejillones peninsula. Upwelling brings nutrient-rich water from the deep sea towards the surface and it is these nutrients that attract cetaceans.

In order to protect these animals from ship strikes, the first routing guidelines for Mejillones were issued in 2022 based on an initial set of whale data obtained by our local biologist, Ana Garcia. The data showed a pattern of higher whale density around Cape Angamos.

The Whale Guardians program was in its infancy and finding its way into the shipping world.

Our routing recommendations aimed to steer vessels away from the areas with the highest whale density. We collaborated with the Mejillones shipping authorities and the Chilean Navy to ensure that our recommendations were broadly supported by the local community.

Recent whale data confirms the pattern in whale presence that was observed in 2021. The development of our in-house whale protection app now allows us to create better visuals and further refine our routing recommendations. For this reason, we felt that it was the right time for a first update of our Mejillones routing recommendations.

Additionally, we have decided internally to move away from using suggested waypoints in our whale protection measures.

We believe that working with so-called Areas To Be Avoided (ATBAs) and Speed Reduction Zones (SRZs) provide greater clarity for navigators using our routing recommendations.

It also helps avoid inadvertently pushing ships into close-quarter situations, as vessels might otherwise use the same approach waypoints when calling at a given port.

It is important to note that the ATBAs we are designing are voluntary and are not official IMO-adopted ATBAs as defined in the General Provisions on Ships’ Routeing pursuant to regulation V/10 of the SOLAS Convention (amended 2000). However, we believe that using well-established terminology enhances clarity for users of our recommendations.

The updated Mejillones document will be published in the coming weeks and distributed among all involved parties. More importantly, it will be shared with all vessels calling at the port of Mejillones, providing navigators with a clear and updated set of instructions on how to protect great whales during their port calls. Stay tuned to Whale Guardians for the release and latest updates.