Photo Courtesy of Pixabay user MrsBrown
(SEATTLE) Starting next week, big ships entering Puget Sound are being asked to SLOW DOWN.
It’s an additional measure to make some regular guests feel a little more at home.
For the first time, Washington will adopt an advisory on the books in British Columbia, asking cargo ships to reduce speed between 30 and 50 percent. This will be in effect for the shipping lanes from Admiralty Inlet by Port Townsend south to Kingston and Mukilteo.
The idea is to cause even less interference with resident killer whales who move inland over the next couple of months to feed on salmon.
Rachel Aronson, the program director of Quiet Sound, which is a relatively new group that organized the slowdown trial, says
“When large vessels slow their speed they reduce the amount of underwater noise they create.”
Slowing down means the trip to and from the Pacific will take about an hour longer.
Puget Sound Pilots Executive Director Charles Costanzo tells the AP “We’re supportive of the initiative and We plan to notify these piloted vessels of the suggested slowdown and ensure that ships are aware of the expectations when encountering whales.”
