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Whalesafe: Presentation Of The Sperm Whale Protection Protocol Of Conduct
Costa Cruises is the first shipping company toparticipate in the project
Genoa, July 4 2016 - This morning theAquarium of Genoa played host to the presentation of the sperm whaleprotection protocol of conduct developed by the partners of theWhalesafe conservation project and co-financed by the European Union throughthe Life+ program, including the University of Genoa(Department of Physics and the Department of Earth Sciences, Environment andLife), Costa Edutainment, the Maritime Administration of Genoa, theHarbourmaster's Office of Savona and Softeco Sismat.
Costa Cruises becomes the first shipping company to take part in theproject, with Alessandro Bertorello, Head of EnvironmentCarnival Maritime, signing the protocol at the end of the presentation.
The protocol defines 4 colour-coded alarm levels: GREEN, no sperm whales; YELLOW, presence of 1 or more spermwhales underwater; ORANGE, presenceof 1 or more sperm whales on the surface without any risk of colliding withvessels; RED, presence of 1 or moresperm whales with imminent risk of collision.
The document alsodefines 3 areas when sperm whales arepresent on the surface: NO TRANSITAREA, within a radius of 100 metres from the sperm whale, TRANSIT AREA, within a radius of 500metres from the sperm whale at a agreed upon speed of 6 knots, ALERT AREA, within a radius of 3 milesfrom where the sperm whale is recorded on the surface, and requesting ships inthe area to proceed with caution and, through onboard spotters, to monitor anymovements of sperm whales and thus avoid any possible disturbance or collision.
The alarm levels aredefined by the Harbourmaster's Office in the Port of Savona based on datareceived from monitoring buoys, installed off the coast of the Savonese portlast May, and transmitted by radio exclusively to ships in the area, as well asthose entering or exiting the port.
The protocol, whichis based on voluntary participation, does not foresee any obligations orsanctions, but does set an objective of reducing the risk of disturbance andcollisions with sperm whales through wide-ranging activities to enhance theawareness of all operators involved.
This makes CostaCruises' participation in the project, as the first shipping company, evenmore important considering the years of attention Costa has focused andcontinues to focus on protecting the marine environment where its shipsoperating. Onboard officers are trained on a regular basis (Whale ProtectionTraining Program) to deal with this type of problem, to carry out necessarymanoeuvres and to alert the local port authorities whenever required. Therefore,participating in Whalesafe is a natural continuation of a commitment that hasnow become part of the company's DNA.
In addition tosigning the protocol, the cruise company is also involved with a project, thatbegan last year, to enhance awareness of adults and children throughonboard play-based activities during which participants learn how torecognise the different species of cetaceans that live in the PelagosSanctuary, and through an exhibition dedicated to these species at the Palacrociere Terminal in Savona.
These initiatives arecarried out thanks to the support of Costa Edutainment, whose taskis to enhance the general public's awareness of the project through activitiesthat also include animated films and in-depth cetacean-oriented edutainment atthe Aquarium of Genoa.
For additional information:
CostaEdutainment
Acquario di Genova
Press office - Tel. +39 010/2345.240- stampaacquariodigenova@costaedutainment.it
CostaCruises
PressOffice - Tel. +39 010 5483523 / 0105483068 - costapressoffice@costa.it
GabrieleBaroni – Communication Director – Cell +39 3497668013 - baroni@costa.it
DavideBarbano – Media Relations Manager – cell. +39 3346525216 - barbano@costa.it
Mediareleases and images available at www.costapresscenter.com
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