This major shipping line has rerouted some of its ships passing near the coast of Sri Lanka, where many of these big beautiful creatures dwell. Why reroute the ships, I hear you say? Because apparently “blue whale collisions!” is a thing!

In fact, in New Zealand, a fishing boat colliding with a blue whale resulted in 5 deaths and several passenger injuries! I imagine the whale didn’t come off too well either. According to IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare), the popular international shipping lanes south of Sri Lanka pass right through where the whales tend to congregate.

By adjusting their path by just 15 nautical miles, MSC has been able to give these mammoth marine mammals some space and help protect them from harm. A small compromise for MSC but a big win for the whales. Will other shipping companies follow suit? I don’t know. But I do know that we all have a duty to minimise our impact on the environment and the oceans.

Over the coming years, big changes are coming for the freight industry when it comes to the environment. Cop26 saw a coalition of countries, including the UK, pledge to reach net zero CO2 emissions by 2050.  Legislation has already been passed in many industries worldwide in a bid to reduce the impact we’re having on the climate crisis, and more are coming our way. As time goes on, I think we’re going to see shipping companies making compromises to help protect the environment and reduce their impact on the oceans.

What do you think? Are the coming changes a positive thing that we should all be embracing or just a pain in the ass?

I’d love to hear your views…