Whale Guardians™

In French Polynesia Whale Guardians™ dear friend and partner Hussain Aga Khan had an incredible encounter with a humpback whale. Hussain runs a marine conservation organization called Focused On Nature and is a world-renowned wildlife photographer. focusedonnature.org Check out his images and let us know what you would do if you found yourself this close to a curious giant of the sea! You can follow this account to learn how @whaleguardians save endangered whales. #whaleguardians #savegreatwhales #shipstrikes #connecttoprotect

Thank you Basile A. and EBE - dry bulk your commitment to being certified Whale Guardians™ has saved critical whales lives already and will inspire many others to follow your example! Through partnership and collaboration like this we truly believe we can save these endangered gentle behemoths of the sea from extinction! Royal Belgian Shipowners' Association (KBRV) 🐋 #makewayforwhales

✨Have you spotted Star, the magnificent blue whale in Antwerp yesterday? 🐳🌊 I heard about it and I was impressed to see it live! So that’s what the largest animal on earth looks like?! Such a massive display to remind us how whales are crucial in our fight for climate change and raise awareness on untended ship strikes, fishing nets, and pollution. It was great to meet Michael Fishbach and his team from Whale Guardians™ on the solutions that exist to avoid ship collisions. #MakeWayForWhales 🐋

Such a wonderful team conducting a critical series of events! Thank you for your recap Erik Roscam Abbing and your vital contribution to the success of Stars debut in Europe!

Thank you Svetoslav Todorov, Royal Belgian Shipowners' Association (KBRV), & COBELFRET your dedication to protecting endangered whale lives across the globe is inspiring to say the least.

#MakeWayForWhales: Belgian shipowners bring life-sized blue whale on European tour to raise awareness on fatal whale accidents Together with the Great Whale Conservancy, the Royal Belgian Shipowners' Association (KBRV) are bringing a life-sized replica of a real female blue whale on a European tour to raise awareness about what the shipping industry and policymakers can do about the high whale fatalities. On Thursday 13 June 2024, the KBRV will place Star, the name of the female blue whale in the square in front of the Stad Antwerpen Central train station. The whale measures 26m long, 5m wide and 5m tall. The public will at last be able to witness the majestic dimensions of these largest animals on our planet. "Whales are crucial in our fight against climate change. By helping whales return to their pre-whaling numbers of 4.5 million (up from their 1.3 million today), we are enhancing the oceans' ability to help us fight global climate change," said Michael Fishbach, Co-Founder of the Great Whale Conservancy and the Whale Guardians™. "Having legislation passed not just in Europe, but also around the world, is going to take time. This is the reason why the Belgian shipowners have brought Star first to Belgium, in the context of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the European Union 2024, to highlight the urgency of the problem," explained Wilfried Lemmens, KBRV Managing Director. While global legislation is the best solution, shipping companies can already put in place certain measures, as attested by Basile A., CEO of EBE - dry bulk: "Contrary to what some believe, the costs involved are limited. At EBE, by integrating whale database into our navigation system, we managed to avoid whale migration routes and feeding and mating grounds." The media and the public are invited to view the life-sized replica of Star on: 📅 Thursday 13 June 2024 ⏳ 11:30-15:30 *This activity is also carried out during the Antwerp Maritime Week, 11-13 June. Those who wish to know more about Star and the KBRV’s efforts, follow us on social media using the hashtag #MakeWayForWhales. More info: https://lnkd.in/eyYk3aiF #boldlyBEyond FOD Mobiliteit en Vervoer / SPF Mobilité et Transports Alexander De Croo Paul Van Tigchelt Blauwe Cluster (Blue Cluster) vzw MASS Think Tank Belgium The Beacon | Innovation Community MCA (Maritime Campus Antwerp) Plug and Play Maritime Business in Antwerp

"Het gevolg is dat het veelal bij adviezen, waarschuwingen en vrijwillige snelheidsbeperkingen blijft. Daarom hoopt de Royal Belgian Shipowners' Association (KBRV) met zijn campagne ook te wegen op de wetgeving. Al is Michael Barbaix nuchter. 'Je zal de twee werelden, natuur en economie, altijd moeten verzoenen.'" 🙏 Bedankt Stephanie De Smedt voor het artikel in De Tijd. We hopen dat beleidsmakers in heel Europa met wetgeving kunnen realiseren wat Michael hierboven zei. 👏 Sluit je aan bij onze #MakeWayforWhales-campagne komende woensdag voor het Antwerpen-Centraal Station om "Star" te ontmoeten! https://lnkd.in/esCBesAd #boldlyBEyond #EU2024BE FOD Mobiliteit en Vervoer / SPF Mobilité et Transports MASS Think Tank Belgium Great Whale Conservancy Whale Guardians™ Plug and Play Maritime The Beacon | Innovation Community EBE - dry bulk

🌊 The Cluster Maritime Luxembourgeois asbl had the honor of participating in two significant events as part of the "𝗢𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁 — 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗟𝘂𝘅𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗴" initiative, organized by IMS Luxembourg - Inspiring More Sustainability and Fondation 1 OCEAN.   👉 𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗘𝘅𝗵𝗶𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: "𝗢𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀, 𝗮 𝗣𝗵𝗼𝘁𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗽𝗵𝗶𝗰 𝗢𝗱𝘆𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘆" On May 24th, we participated in the opening of this captivating exhibition at the Neumünster Abbey. The exhibition, featuring the work of photographer Alexis Rosenfeld, is a powerful reminder of our connection to the oceans and the importance of their preservation.   👉 𝗧𝗼𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀 𝗮 𝗦𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 On June 6th, we attended the one-day conference at our member BGL BNP Paribas's premises and supporting by our other member Luxembourg Stock Exchange. During the event, two esteemed speakers from the Cluster network contributing to the panel discussions: > Patrick Steenacker, Managing Director of Ahlmar SA and Board member of the Cluster, discussed the topic of decarbonizing maritime transport, highlighting innovative strategies for reducing emissions. > Michael Fishbach, Executive Director of The Great Whale Conservancy — Whale Guardians™, emphasized the importance of protecting great whales and their role in the marine ecosystem.   💡 We are delighted to have been part of these discussions and initiative dedicated to the general public to raise awareness and inform about the #BlueEconomy in and from #Luxembourg. #Maritime #Ocean #Cluster #Conference

Thank you so much for this perfect evening Cluster Maritime Luxembourgeois asbl This is exactly the type of event that we need more of to make real positive change for the benefit of the world’s great whales and the maritime industry at the same time. A huge amount of gratitude goes to COBELFRET and Euronav for their membership and continued dedication to saving whales from unintended vessel strikes! #connecttoprotect #savegreatwhales #whaleguardians

Register here: https://lnkd.in/eS4n-Huk (Afternoon session: 13h30-16h30) How can we approach unintentional ship strikes with #whales from a technological perspective? On the 11th of June we are coming together The Beacon | Innovation Community during Antwerp Maritime Week to see how we can approach this challenge from a technological perspective: what exists today (satellite images, drone footage, situational awareness cameras,…), what is missing, where is data stored, which algorithms are used and most important, how can we integrate this data into navigational software. Agenda Michael Fishbach - Co-Founder & Co-Director at Great Whale Conservancy – will give an introduction on the topic Erik Roscam Abbing – Independent Consultant in Marine Challenges & Global Delegate of the Whale Guardians™ Guardians – will give an overview of existing technologies to capture whale data, applied algorithms and databases. Céline MORTIER – CEO of BOGERD MARTIN – will talk about how databases with whale data can be linked to navigational software so that route optimization can take whale migrations into account