Can we stop ships from killing the Mediterranean’s last great whales?

An analysis of 2025 vessel-tracking data found nearly 2,800 large ships crossed key Mediterranean whale habitats above 15 knots, the speed at which strikes are almost always fatal, with roughly 30 ships exceeding that threshold at any given moment. Fin and sperm whales, both endangered with fewer than 2,500 mature individuals estimated in 2021, are dying from propeller strikes that researchers say frequently go unrecorded because carcasses sink or never reach shore.

A 2023 study estimated collisions kill at least 16.6 fin whales annually, more than the population can recover from. In 2023 the International Maritime Organization designated a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area covering over 200,000 square kilometers, recommending speeds of 10-13 knots, though the source material does not indicate how strictly this recommendation is followed.

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