SAvE Whales: Turning Vision into Action to Mitigate Ship Strikes

• Progress on the SAvE Whales system was presented at a side event of the 10th Our Ocean Conference in Busan, Korea, one year after its announcement as part of Greece’s 21 commitments at the 9th Our Ocean Conference in Athens. 
• The innovative technology serves as a complementary tool to protect endangered sperm whales from ship strikes in the Kythira Strait, Greece, where re-routing vessel traffic is not possible.
• Arcadia Shipmanagement, a leading Greek shipping company, confirmed its commitment to test the system during its development phase.

The SAvE Whales partners hosted a successful side event at the 10th Our Ocean Conference (OOC) held in Busan, Korea, from 28-30 April 2025, showcasing progress on an innovative system designed to prevent ship strikes on endangered whales. The event, titled “SAvE Whales: Turning Vision into Action to Mitigate Ship Strikes – How technology can complement operational measures,” demonstrated how the bold vision first presented a year ago has evolved into concrete action.

Support for the SAvE Whales initiatives for the protection of the endangered sperm whales from the ship strikes was among Greece’s 21 commitments for the protection of the marine environment announced by the Greek Prime Minister at the 9th Our Ocean Conference which was held in Athens on 15-17 April, 2024, which are estimated in total at about 780 million euros.

Following a joint commitment at the 9th Our Ocean Conference, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed in June 2024 by the Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy, the Natural Environment and Climate Change Agency (NECCA) of Greece, OceanCare and The Green Tank. The agreement provides for scaling up and fully implementing the SAvE Whales system in the Kythira Strait by 2028.

During the side event, partners highlighted key progress made since the initial commitment, including:

• Establishment of a steering committee with representatives from all MOU signatories to closely oversee the project’s implementation
• Completion of the first year of field activities by the scientific partners, with research findings that will guide the upscaling of the system
• Development of operational strategies that mariners can adopt

A roundtable discussion between Nicolas Entrup, Director of International Relations at OceanCare and Petros Varelidis, General Secretary for the Natural Environment and Waters at the Ministry of Environment and Energy, Greece, moderated by Sharon Livermore, IFAW & Chair of the Vessel Strike Working Group of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), examined how SAvE Whales fits into the broader context of efforts to protect endangered sperm whales.

In a significant development, Arcadia Shipmanagement, a leading Greek shipping company, confirmed its commitment to test the SAvE Whales system as it continues to be developed. Capt. Dimitrios Mattheou, CEO of Arcadia Shipmanagement and Aegean Bulk, and Chairman of the Green Award Foundation, emphasized in his address that where rerouting is not feasible, the SAvE Whales system provides the shipping community with a crucial opportunity to protect endangered whale populations in the Hellenic Trench. By detecting whale presence in real time, the SAvE Whales system enables mariners to implement appropriate operational measures to avoid ship strikes.

Nicolas Entrup, Director of International Relations at OceanCare added:

“The SAvE Whales system represents the fruition of years of collaborative efforts of OceanCare with Greek scientists and authorities to safeguard the endangered sperm whale population in the Eastern Mediterranean. One year after announcing our commitment at the Athens conference, we’re making significant progress in implementing this technology in the Kythira Strait. This innovative instrument complements our ongoing advocacy for shipping lanes to be moved away from critical whale habitats wherever possible, creating a comprehensive strategy to reduce fatal ship strikes.”

Petros Varelidis, General Secretary for the Natural Environment and Waters at the Ministry of Environment and Energy, Greece noted:

“From a political point of view, it is important to move from theoretical protection to action with tangible measures that can make a difference. Greece, a global leader in shipping but also a very touristic country with its main asset being its pristine marine environment, is supporting the SAvE Whales innovative project to showcase its commitment towards real protection, thus contributing to a harmonious coexistence of different economic activities.”

Sharon Livermore, Director of Marine Conservation at IFAW and Chair of the Vessel Strike Working Group of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) commented:

“More than half the sperm whales found stranded on the Greek coast show evidence of vessel strike – the highest proportion of deaths caused by strikes that is known of for any whale population globally. However, mariners on large ships are often unaware that they have hit a whale, so tools like the SAvE Whales system can really help reduce risk while raising awareness of this fatal threat”.

SAvE Whales, which stands for “System for the Avoidance of ship-strikes with Endangered Whales,” offers pioneering technology that serves as a complementary mitigation measure in areas where alternative solutions, such as re-routing vessel traffic, are not available.

The deployment area lies along the Hellenic Trench, an Important Marine Mammal Area and a high-risk zone for ship strikes, as recognised by international agreements such as ACCOBAMS, IWC, and IMO. The area is also planned to be part of the Ionian National Marine Park (Greece), which was announced at the 9th OOC.

The session aligned with key focus areas of the 10th OOC – Marine Protected Areas, Maritime Security, the Blue Economy, and Digital Oceans – providing valuable insights into the intersection of innovation, policy, and marine conservation.

Publications

• Press release by the Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy on Signing the Memorandum of Understanding (18/06/2024)
• Press Release: SAvE Whales: Implementation agreement with Greece signed (19/6/2024)
• Press Release: Scientists, civil society and Greek government to deploy technology to prevent ship strikes on sperm whales in the Kythera strait (17/04/2024)
• You can watch SAvE Whale’s field work in action here. Available also with Greek subtitles (12/12/2024).

Notes for Editors

The Our Ocean Conference gathers approximately 1,000 global leaders from various sectors, including heads of state and high-level government officials from over 100 countries, as well as representatives from more than 400 international and non-profit organisations. Since the inaugural Our Ocean Conference in the United States in 2014, over 2,600 voluntary commitments have been announced at subsequent conferences held in Chile, the European Union (Malta), Indonesia, Norway, Palau, Greece, and now Korea.

The side event at the 10^th Our Ocean Conference in Busan, Korea was organized by the SAvE Whales partners: OceanCare, the Hellenic Ministry of Environment and Energy, the Natural Environment and Climate Change Agency (NECCA, Greece) and the Green Tank and its scientific partners: Pelagos Cetacean Research Institute and the Institute of Applied and Computational Mathematics of the Foundation of Research and Technology – Hellas (FORTH). The side event took place at the BEXCO in Busan, Korea on Tuesday April 29^th, 2025.

A population of sperm whales was discovered in the Hellenic Trench by the Pelagos Cetacean Research Institute in 1998. Vessel strikes were soon identified by them as the main threat for the survival of this endangered population. SAvE Whales, which stands for “System for the Avoidance of ship-strikes with Endangered Whales”, was first developed in a pilot project between 2019 and 2021 by Pelagos and FORTH, fully funded by OceanCare. It offers a pioneering technology, serving as a complementary response measure to the threat of vessel strikes. A Memorandum of Understanding, singed in June 2024, by the Greek Ministry of Environment and Energy, the Natural Environment and Climate Change Agency, OceanCare and Τhe Green Tank provides for the scaling up and the full implementation of the system in the Kythira Strait by 2028.