PROVINCETOWN — Staff members with the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and Maritime Information Systems, Inc. recently announced that they were able to transmit a text message to the bridge of a large tanker ship notifying its captain and crew that they had exceeded the speed limit of the Cape Cod Bay NOAA Right Whale Seasonal Management Area.
Performed in collaboration with the U.S. Coast Guard, the Automatic Identification System is a new measure in the fight to save North Atlantic Right Whales by improving vessel communication and compliance with regulations deemed by experts as critical for avoiding deadly collisions between whales and marine vessels.
In addition to providing a feedback loop with mariners, the technology is also expected to be used to transmit right whale sighting data to vessels equipped with the technology.
According to the testing staff, the team received a confirmative message from the vessel acknowledging that the message was received.
Existing laws dictate that most vessels of 65 feet or more must travel at no more than 10 knots while traveling in seasonal management areas during the whales’ migratory season.
According to NOAA, vessels traveling through the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary have the highest compliance rates in the country.
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