New Digital Nautical Chart to Protect Biodiversity in Danish Waters

Every day, ships travel thousands of nautical miles across oceans teeming with life. The shipping industry has a responsibility to minimise the harmful environmental impacts and threats to marine biodiversity posed by dense maritime traffic. 

Danish Shipping aims to make it easier for vessels navigating Danish waters to consider the potential effects on marine life by developing a digital route planning tool that combines environmental data with nautical charts. 

The tool will provide navigators with access to environmental data highlighting sensitive marine areas and recommend sustainable behaviour patterns during voyage planning. The route planning tool will be made freely available to anyone who wishes to use it. 

The project will be carried out in Danish waters, with a particular focus on areas such as the western Baltic Sea, Kattegat, Øresund, and the Great Belt. 

“We who make our living from and on the sea have a clear responsibility to help reduce our negative impact on marine life. We must do this by minimising our emissions until global shipping becomes climate-neutral — but also by taking greater care of marine biodiversity. A new tool that makes it easier to plan shipping routes in Danish waters with biodiversity in mind is a practical solution that can make a tangible difference,” said Nina Porst, Executive Director of Climate, Environment and Security at Danish Shipping.

The project is being carried out with support from the Danish Maritime Fund.

“I am very happy that the Danish Maritime Fund has chosen to support this project as part of their efforts to promote maritime business development here in Denmark. It’s extremely valuable. The Fund has supported many good and inspiring projects over the years. I look very much forward to seeing the final result,” said Nina Porst.

Read more about the project on the Danish Maritime Fund’s website here (in Danish)