Vessel Strike

A collision between a vessel and a marine animal in the ocean.

The installation and maintenance of marine energy and offshore wind energy involves additional marine operations that may increase the risk of vessel strike, which is a collision between a vessel (e.g., boat, ship) and a marine animal in the ocean. Vessel strikes are an ongoing threat to many marine animals around the world, particularly in heavy traffic areas near ports, transit routes, and developed coastlines. Marine life, primarily marine mammals and sea turtles, that spend time near the sea surface or in areas where vessel routes overlap with key habitats have the potential to be struck by vessels. Animal behavior and other factors influence the likelihood of a vessel strike occurring and vary temporally, seasonally, spatially, by species, and in different environmental conditions. Potential mitigation measures such as protected species observers (PSOs), route restrictions, and vessel speed restrictions can reduce the risk of vessel strike. 

For more information relevant to offshore wind energy, check out the Presence of Vessels: Effects of Vessel Collision on Marine Life research brief produced by SEER.

Affiliated Marine and Wind Energy Environmental Documents

Total results: 60
Title Author Date Content Type Technology Stressor Receptor
Has Designating and Protecting Critical Habitat had an Impact on Endangered North Atlantic Right Whale Ship Strike Mortality? Mullen, K., Peterson, M., Todd, S. Journal Article Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Symmetry: The Key to Diagnosing Propeller Strike Injuries in Sea Mammals Byard, R., Machado, A., Woolford, L. Journal Article Marine Energy Vessel Strike Marine Mammals
Vessel Operator Response to a Voluntary Measure for Reducing Collisions with Whales Silber, G., Adams, J., Bettridge, S. Journal Article Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy
Absolute Probability Estimates of Lethal Vessel Strikes to North Atlantic Right Whales in Roseway Basin, Scotian Shelf van der Hoop, J., Vanderlaan, A., Taggart, C. Journal Article Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
The Assessment of Lethal Propeller Strike Injuries in Sea Mammals Byard, R., Winskog, C., Machado, A. Journal Article Marine Energy Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Pinnipeds
REPCET Realtime Plotting of Cetaceans: Presentation of the System Mayol, P. Report Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Human Dimensions, Navigation
Unusual Mortality of Pinnipeds in the United Kingdom Associated with Helical (Corkscrew) Injuries of Anthropogenic Origin Bexton, S., Thompson, D., Brownlow, A. Journal Article Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Pinnipeds
Light-Induced Bird Strikes on Vessels in Southwest Greenland Merkel, F., Johansen, K. Journal Article Lighting, Vessel Strike Birds, Seabirds, Waterfowl
Hydrodynamics of a Ship/Whale Collision Silber, G., Slutsky, J., Bettridge, S. Journal Article Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Association Between Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus) Mortality and Ship Strikes Along the California Coast Berman-Kowalewski, M., Gulland, F., Wilkin, S. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Human Dimensions, Navigation
Mechanics of the Right Whale Mandible: Full Scale Testing and Finite Element Analysis Tsukrov, I., DeCew, J., Baldwin, K. Journal Article Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Endangered Fish and Wildlife; Final Rule To Implement Speed Restrictions to Reduce the Threat of Ship Collisions With North Atlantic Right Whales National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Guidance Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Human Dimensions, Navigation
Gross and Histologic Evidence of Sharp and Blunt Trauma in North Atlantic Right Whales (Eubalaena glacialis) Killed by Vessels Campbell-Malone, R., Barco, S., Daoust, P. Journal Article Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Modeling the Effect of Vessel Speed on Right Whale Ship Strike Risk Kite-Powell, H., Knowlton, A., Brown, M. Report Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Using Ship Speed and Mass to Describe Potential Collision Severity with Whales: An Application of the Ship Traffic, Energy and Environment Model (STEEM) Wang, C., Lyons, S., Corbett, J. Report Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Forensic Methods for Characterizing Watercraft from Watercraft-Induced Wounds on the Florida Manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) Rommel, S., Costidis, A., Pitchford, T. Journal Article Vessel Strike Marine Mammals
Vessel Collisions with Whales: The Probability of Lethal Injury Based on Vessel Speed Vanderlaan, A., Taggart, C. Journal Article Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
North Atlantic Right Whales (Eubalaena glacialis) Ignore Ships but Respond to Alerting Stimuli Nowacek, D., Johnson, M., Tyack, P. Journal Article Attraction, Noise, Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Large Whale Ship Strike Database Jensen, A., Silber, G. Report Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Collisions Between Ships and Whales Laist, D., Knowlton, A., Mead, J. Journal Article Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Displaying 41 - 60 of 60 results