Scientists Warn of Higher Whale-Ship Collision Risk off South Africa from Rerouted Vessels

Scientists warn of growing risks to whales from ship collisions off South Africa's southwestern coast. Changing shipping routes due to Middle East conflicts have boosted the threat to the mammals.

Ships have rerouted around South Africa since 2023, when Houthi rebels seized a British-owned vessel near Yemen. This has sent more vessels carrying goods between Asia and Europe past Africa to bypass the region.

Some 89 commercial ships passed the Cape of Good Hope between March and April this year, nearly double the 44 from the same period in 2023, according to the International Monetary Fund's PortWatch report cited by AFP.

Researcher Vermeulen told the BBC her team examined distribution models for whale species around the Western Cape. They overlaid those models with shipping routes to identify collision hot spots.

Vermeulen said it remains difficult to count struck whales because of missing data. Most strikes occur far offshore, she noted, causing the animals to sink rather than beach themselves.

Experts call this "cryptic mortality," which complicates efforts to gauge the problem's size.

Vermeulen proposed adjustments to shipping lanes and slower speeds at certain times of year. Her team aims to survey offshore whale numbers by plane or boat but needs funding, she said.

"It's been nice to see how much people want to come together to solve this," Vermeulen told the BBC. "So now the onus is on the scientific community to come up with reliable data on the offshore whale population."