4 Information to be provided to participating ships and procedures to be followed
Clasification Society 2024 - Version 9.40
Statutory Documents - IMO Publications and Documents - Resolutions - Maritime Safety Committee - Resolution MSC.85(70) - Mandatory Ship Reporting Systems - (adopted on 7 December 1998) - Annex 1 - Description of the Mandatory Ship Reporting Systems for Protection of Endangered North Atlantic Right Whales in Sea Areas off the Northeastern and Southeastern Coasts of the United States - 4 Information to be provided to participating ships and procedures to be followed

4 Information to be provided to participating ships and procedures to be followed

 Ships will be provided with the following information:

  4.1 Mariners shall be informed that they are entering an area of critical importance for the protection of the highly endangered right whale; that such whales are present; and that ship strikes pose a serious threat to whales and may cause damage to ships. Communication systems between ship and shore are described in paragraphs 7 and 8, below.

  4.2 To obtain seasonal right whale advisories which are broadcast periodically, mariners would also be advised to monitor Coast Guard Broadcast Notice to Mariners, NAVTEX, NOAA Weather Radio, and, in the northeastern ship reporting system area only, the Cape Cod Canal Vessel Traffic Control and the Bay of Fundy Vessel Traffic Control. These advisories are based on surveys that are flown seasonally and in daylight and good weather conditions only. The sighting information may be useful only for brief periods as the whales move and surveys detect a small percentage of the whales present.

  4.3 Mariners would be advised to consult with NAVTEX, Inmarsat-C SafetyNET (satellite text broadcasts), the United States Coast Pilot, Notice to Mariners, the nautical charts for information on the boundaries of the right whale critical habitat and the national marine sanctuary, applicable regulations, and precautionary measures that mariners may take to reduce the risk of hitting right whales. Mariners will further be advised that information placards, videos, and other educational materials are available from shipping agents, port authorities, pilots, relevant state agencies, the Coast Guard, and the National Marine Fisheries Service.

  4.4 In the message back to the ship, mariners would also be requested to report any whale sightings and dead, injured, or entangled marine mammals to the nearest local Coast Guard station.

  4.5 Where available, specific and timely information on whale locations will be provided to ships.

Parent topic: Annex 1 - Description of the Mandatory Ship Reporting Systems for Protection of Endangered North Atlantic Right Whales in Sea Areas off the Northeastern and Southeastern Coasts of the United States
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