Marine automated DETECTion and anti-collision system with cetaceans

Introduction

LIFE-SEADETECT aims to halt the biodiversity loss due to ship strikes with cetaceans - being the first non-natural threat to large cetaceans’ lives - by implementing and developing new technologies.

Objectives

To considerably reduce the risk of collision, the SEADETECT project aims to develop two innovative systems that can ensure the detection of cetaceans with a radius range of 1 km in most weather conditions, day and night in real-time. Our proposal shows that 1 km of detection range is sufficient for high-speed/high-collision risk vessels to change their trajectory in order to avoid collisions with cetaceans (see Other Annexes 7).

System Components

Our systems will be composed of:

• An on-board system with multiple highly sensitive complementary sensors that will be fused and processed with artificial intelligence to allow equipped vessels to self-detect cetaceans.
• A network of Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) buoys that will detect and triangulate the position of cetaceans in real-time to prevent collisions for all vessels in usual maritime routes. Obtained detections will feed REPCET sharing detection software to inform equipped vessels of the risk of collision.

Demonstration Campaigns

Three large cetaceans will be saved during the demonstration campaigns:

1. Three consecutive demonstration campaigns will be led to evaluate the on-board system for a total period of 3 years. This system will be deployed on three specific vessels that represent the highest risk of collision with cetaceans (i.e., high-speed ferries).
2. Two demonstration campaigns of 6 months for the PAM system during the summer (i.e., the most dangerous period for ship strikes) in critical areas.

Dissemination and Impact

Huge dissemination and communication actions will be established to widely deploy these close-to-market technologies (500 on-board systems, 14 buoy network systems, and 100 REPCET systems). This will ensure at least 100 cetacean lives saved per year - 25 in the Pelagos Sanctuary - five years after the end of the project.