Vessel Strike

A collision between a vessel and a marine animal in the ocean.

The installation and maintenance of marine energy and offshore wind energy involves additional marine operations that may increase the risk of vessel strike, which is a collision between a vessel (e.g., boat, ship) and a marine animal in the ocean. Vessel strikes are an ongoing threat to many marine animals around the world, particularly in heavy traffic areas near ports, transit routes, and developed coastlines. Marine life, primarily marine mammals and sea turtles, that spend time near the sea surface or in areas where vessel routes overlap with key habitats have the potential to be struck by vessels. Animal behavior and other factors influence the likelihood of a vessel strike occurring and vary temporally, seasonally, spatially, by species, and in different environmental conditions. Potential mitigation measures such as protected species observers (PSOs), route restrictions, and vessel speed restrictions can reduce the risk of vessel strike. 

For more information relevant to offshore wind energy, check out the Presence of Vessels: Effects of Vessel Collision on Marine Life research brief produced by SEER.

Marine and Wind Energy Environmental Documents

Tethys is a knowledge hub that contains documents on the environmental effects of wind and marine energy. The table below contains all of the documents in the Tethys Knowledge Base associated with Vessel Strike.

Total: 84

Searches title and abstract.
Title Author Date Content Type Technology Stressor Receptor
South Fork Wind: Conditions of Construction and Operations Plan Approval Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Attraction, Collision, Vessel Strike Bats, Birds, Fish, Marine Mammals
Reducing Vessel Strikes to North Atlantic Right Whales NOAA Fisheries Webpage Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Understanding Vessel Strikes NOAA Fisheries Webpage Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Reptiles
Marine Mammals on the West Coast: Vessel Strikes NOAA Fisheries Webpage Vessel Strike Marine Mammals
Offshore Wind Development and Marine Mammals Marine Mammal Commission Summary Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind, Floating Offshore Wind Displacement, Habitat Change, Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Pinnipeds
Marine Mammals Workgroup Report for the State of the Science Workshop on Wildlife and Offshore Wind Energy 2020: Cumulative Impacts Southall, B., Morse, L., Williams, K. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Changes in Flow, Habitat Change, Noise, Vessel Strike Marine Mammals
Potential environmental effects of deepwater floating offshore wind energy facilities Farr, H., Ruttenberg, B., Walter, R. Journal Article Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Changes in Flow, Collision, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise, Vessel Strike Bats, Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment
Risk Assessment to Model Encounter Rates between Large Whales and Sea Turtles and Vessel Traffic from Offshore Wind Energy on the Atlantic OCS Barkaszi, M., Fonseca, M., Foster, T. Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Reptiles, Sea Turtles, Human Dimensions, Navigation
Estimating effectiveness of speed reduction measures for decreasing whale-strike mortality in a high-risk region Rockwood, R., Adams, J., Silber, G. Journal Article Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Existing Conditions and Potential Environmental Effects HT Harvey and Associates Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Avoidance, Collision, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Noise, Vessel Strike Birds, Seabirds, Fish, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment
North Atlantic Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis) Vessel Speed Rule Assessment NOAA Fisheries Report Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
A Global Review of Vessel Collisions With Marine Animals Schoeman, R., Patterson-Abrolat, C., Plon, S. Journal Article Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Navigation
Summary of Discussions from the Marine Mammal Specialist Committee of the Environmental Technical Working Group (E-TWG) New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Noise, Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Human Dimensions, Navigation
Economic Analysis of the North Atlantic Right Whale Vessel Speed Restriction Rule Industrial Economics Inc Report Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
The State of the Science on Wildlife and Offshore Wind Energy Development: Workshop Proceedings Gulka, J., Williams, K. Workshop Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Collision, Displacement, Habitat Change, Noise, Vessel Strike Bats, Birds, Ecosystem Processes, Fish, Marine Mammals, Reptiles
Differential Vulnerability to Ship Strikes Between Day and Night for Blue, Fin, and Humpback Whales Based on Dive and Movement Data From Medium Duration Archival Tags Calambokidis, J., Fahlbusch, J., Szesciorka, A. Journal Article Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Monitoring of Marine Mammal Strandings Along French Coasts Reveals the Importance of Ship Strikes on Large Cetaceans: A Challenge for the European Marine Strategy Framework Directive Peltier, H., Beaufils, A., Cesarini, C. Journal Article Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Best Management Practices for North Atlantic Right Whales During Offshore Wind Energy Construction and Operations Along the U.S. East Coast Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Report Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Environmental Sensitivity and Associated Risk to Habitats and Species Offshore Central California and Hawaii from Offshore Floating Wind Technologies Morandi, A., Berkman, S., Rowe, J. Report Wind Energy, Floating Offshore Wind Collision, EMF, Habitat Change, Noise, Vessel Strike Bats, Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals
High mortality of blue, humpback and fin whales from modeling of vessel collisions on the U.S. West Coast suggests population impacts and insufficient protection Rockwood, R., Calambokidis, J., Jahncke, J. Journal Article Vessel Strike Marine Mammals
Investigations into the interactions between harbour seals (Phoca vitulina) and vessels in the inner Moray Firth Onoufriou, J., Jones, E., Hastie, G. Report Attraction, Avoidance, Displacement, Noise, Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Pinnipeds, Navigation
Renewables, Shipping, and Protected Species: A Vanishing Opportunity for Effective Marine Spatial Planning? Petruny, L., Wright, A., Smith, C. Book Chapter Noise, Vessel Strike Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy, Marine Spatial Planning, Navigation
Vessel Strikes to Large Whales Before and After the 2008 Ship Strike Rule van der Hoop, J., Vanderlaan, A., Cole, T. Journal Article Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Has Designating and Protecting Critical Habitat had an Impact on Endangered North Atlantic Right Whale Ship Strike Mortality? Mullen, K., Peterson, M., Todd, S. Journal Article Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Planning Scotland's Seas: SEA of Plans for Wind, Wave and Tidal Power in Scottish Marine Waters Environmental Report APS Group Scotland Report Marine Energy, Tidal, Wave, Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Attraction, Avoidance, Changes in Flow, Chemicals, Collision, Displacement, EMF, Entanglement, Habitat Change, Lighting, Noise, Vessel Strike Birds, Fish, Invertebrates, Marine Mammals, Physical Environment, Human Dimensions, Environmental Impact Assessment, Fisheries, Legal & Policy, Navigation, Recreation & Tourism, Social & Economic Data, Stakeholder Engagement, Visual Impacts
Symmetry: The Key to Diagnosing Propeller Strike Injuries in Sea Mammals Byard, R., Machado, A., Woolford, L. Journal Article Marine Energy Vessel Strike Marine Mammals
Vessel Operator Response to a Voluntary Measure for Reducing Collisions with Whales Silber, G., Adams, J., Bettridge, S. Journal Article Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Human Dimensions, Legal & Policy
Absolute Probability Estimates of Lethal Vessel Strikes to North Atlantic Right Whales in Roseway Basin, Scotian Shelf van der Hoop, J., Vanderlaan, A., Taggart, C. Journal Article Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
The Assessment of Lethal Propeller Strike Injuries in Sea Mammals Byard, R., Winskog, C., Machado, A. Journal Article Marine Energy Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Pinnipeds
REPCET Realtime Plotting of Cetaceans: Presentation of the System Mayol, P. Report Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Human Dimensions, Navigation
Unusual Mortality of Pinnipeds in the United Kingdom Associated with Helical (Corkscrew) Injuries of Anthropogenic Origin Bexton, S., Thompson, D., Brownlow, A. Journal Article Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Pinnipeds
Light-Induced Bird Strikes on Vessels in Southwest Greenland Merkel, F., Johansen, K. Journal Article Lighting, Vessel Strike Birds, Seabirds, Waterfowl
Hydrodynamics of a Ship/Whale Collision Silber, G., Slutsky, J., Bettridge, S. Journal Article Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Association Between Blue Whale (Balaenoptera musculus) Mortality and Ship Strikes Along the California Coast Berman-Kowalewski, M., Gulland, F., Wilkin, S. Journal Article Wind Energy, Fixed Offshore Wind Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Human Dimensions, Navigation
Mechanics of the Right Whale Mandible: Full Scale Testing and Finite Element Analysis Tsukrov, I., DeCew, J., Baldwin, K. Journal Article Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Endangered Fish and Wildlife; Final Rule To Implement Speed Restrictions to Reduce the Threat of Ship Collisions With North Atlantic Right Whales National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Guidance Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans, Human Dimensions, Navigation
Gross and Histologic Evidence of Sharp and Blunt Trauma in North Atlantic Right Whales (Eubalaena glacialis) Killed by Vessels Campbell-Malone, R., Barco, S., Daoust, P. Journal Article Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Modeling the Effect of Vessel Speed on Right Whale Ship Strike Risk Kite-Powell, H., Knowlton, A., Brown, M. Report Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
Forensic Methods for Characterizing Watercraft from Watercraft-Induced Wounds on the Florida Manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) Rommel, S., Costidis, A., Pitchford, T. Journal Article Vessel Strike Marine Mammals
Vessel Collisions with Whales: The Probability of Lethal Injury Based on Vessel Speed Vanderlaan, A., Taggart, C. Journal Article Vessel Strike Marine Mammals, Cetaceans
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