Yesterday, we posted about a report by the WWF on shipping accident “hotspots” around the world. The report noted that often these regions of increased risk of ship sinking or collision also coincided with environmentally sensitive areas. Fortunately the shipping industry is beginning to focus on protecting areas of the oceans which are particularly sensitive to damage by ships. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has an ongoing program to designate Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSA) which need special protection because of their “significance for recognized ecological or socio-economic or scientific reasons and which may be vulnerable to damage by international maritime activities.”
Here is a PSA (Public Service Announcement) about IMO’s PSSAs.