IMO approves shift of shipping lanes on US west coast to save whales

THE UN's International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has approved amendments to a proposed traffic re-routing and improve ways of tracking whale locations to avoid the unnecessary deaths of whales along the west coast.

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) plans to re-route on Santa Barbara Channel, Los Angeles/Long Beach and San Francisco to prevent the fatal ship collisions with migrating whales.

The IMO's Maritime Safety Committee and NOAA aim to re-convene end-November with an aim for federal adoption of these ship traffic amendments.