Date: December 16th 2024
Summary
Whale Guardianstm proudly announces their partnership with Bogerd Martin and Luxspace. The partnership sets out to provide shipping lines, ports, vessel owners and naval transporters with data based insight in the seasonal presence of large whales and route planning options to avoid them in a safe and economical manner.
Aim of the partnership
The partnership is aimed at delivering a software solution in the course of 2025 that:
maps seasonal whale presence on nautical charts, using data from global whale biologists, citizen science and other whale data gathering techniques.
maps global AIS (Automatic Identification System) shipping data onto nautical charts.
helps the Whale Guardianstm nautical experts and whale specialists analyse potential collision zones.
helps to design exclusion zones for seasonal whale dense areas and plan routes around them, taking into account existing shipping lanes, fuel consumption, planning limitations as well as weather windows.
helps to monitor compliance with those route recommendations and measure shipping impact and effort.
The Partners
Whale Guardians™ is the international program for the avoidance of ship strikes on whales, focusing on establishing approved traffic separation schemes to help the world’s great whales recover to their pre-whaling populations. Preventing unintentional vessel strikes is critical for the survival of some endangered whale populations, especially the world’s largest animal, the blue whale. Whale Guardians™ has a proven methodology to apply protections in a manner that is safe for whales and translates into minimal impact on vessels.
Bogerd Martin adapts to the challenges of modern-day shipping, providing a steady and stable haven in a sea of digital changes. Since 1911, Bogerd Martin has helped their clients achieve compliance standards and work more efficiently through research, development, and continuously improving their range of integrated solutions, products, and services to fit the needs of their clients. With offices in Belgium, Greece, United Arab Emirates, China, and Hong Kong, serving mariners worldwide, Bogerd Martin are a global family.
LuxSpace is the first provider of small satellite systems, and spacebased applications and services in Luxembourg. LuxSpace was established in Luxembourg in 2004 as a subsidiary of the OHB SE Group. The company can look back on seven (7) successfully launched space systems, including the Triton-2/ESAIL satellite launched in September 2020, and has over 17 years of experience in data applications with a particular focus on the Maritime sector and Earth observation. LuxSpace optimally combines expert development processes with innovative techniques to provide its Customers with competitive, rapidly deliverable and reliable solutions.
Céline Mortier, CEO of Bogerd Martin about the partnership
“At Bogerd Martin, we’re all about keeping things shipshape—not just for vessels, but for the oceans too. Partnering with Whale Guardians felt like a natural fit because, let’s face it, who doesn’t want to be on the side of whales? These majestic giants of the sea deserve our protection, and Whale Guardians™ are doing incredible work to make that happen. Plus, it’s not every day you get to say you’re helping save whales while also running a cutting-edge maritime business!
This partnership is important for us because we believe that caring for the oceans is just good business—and good karma. Working with Whale Guardians™ helps us combine our maritime expertise with their conservation know-how to do something that truly makes a difference. Together, we’re ensuring that the maritime industry and marine life can thrive side by side.”
Werner Huysmans, CTO of Bogerd Martin, about the development challenge:
“The integration of data from an as yet unknown number of sources, all having their own different formats, owners, and creators will be a nice challenge to work on. The over-all design of the solution needs to be flexible and future-proof, allowing for easy expansion, while keeping it relatively simple, to minimise maintenance.
And we love the Whale Guardians™ people, the team, the whole idea. It's exciting to be able to help preserve these beautiful and mysterious creatures and to contribute to something that is so remote and "alien" from our daily lives. I'm very much looking forward to seeing actual results of our collaboration. It’s always satisfying to see a real world result of something one has built, and when this impacts the entire world, it's almost unimaginable.”
Maciej Urbanowicz, Engineer at LuxSpace, about the partnership
“LuxSpace, as part of the OHB group, has extensive experience in providing satellite solutions, including AIS capabilities, to our customers. Over the past 12 years, we have been at the forefront of AIS data provision, expanding into both commercial services and research and development initiatives.
Environmental protection has always been important for our team at LuxSpace. We have a history of supporting governments in mitigating the environmental impact of industries such as fishing. Partnering with Whale Guardians™ represents an exciting new chapter in this mission. By combining our expertise in vessel tracking, service development and R&D, we aim to enhance access to critical tracking data and insights, empowering efforts to protect marine ecosystems. This collaboration reflects our commitment to advancing technologies that make a real difference in environmental conservation.
Supporting the Whale Guardians™ project is a mutually beneficial endeavor that aligns with LuxSpace’s values and goals. From an environmental perspective, contributing to the preservation of whales is profoundly significant. Beyond that, this partnership provides a unique technical challenge, offering us the opportunity to refine our data analytics, uncover patterns, and develop tools that enhance the Whale Guardians™' efforts.
On the business front, this partnership allows LuxSpace to showcase its innovative capabilities as a data integrator and tailored service provider. OrbitSailor has evolved beyond a traditional AIS data service into a flexible, agile platform that adapts to the needs of our partners and clients. Our collaboration with Whale Guardians™ also raises awareness among maritime stakeholders about the critical role of vessel tracking in protecting marine life. Together, we’re fostering a new mindset and inspiring action across the industry.”
Quote Michael Fishbach, founder of Whale Guardians™
“This partnership with Luxspace and Bogerd Martin is a crucial and strategic step in Whale Guardians™’ innovation roadmap. The combination of Luxspace global historical AIS data and Bogerd Martin’s expertise in creating maritime routing applications is essential to the services we provide to our shipping line and port partners. Through this combined partnership we can develop the tools that help them avoid dense whale areas through safe, practical, economical and effective rerouting measures”.
More information:
Erik Roscam Abbing, global delegate and innovation lead, +31 6 24518462, erik@whaleguardians.org
Comments