Ships asked to avoid whale route

The endangered right whale is to get extra protection after a safe haven from shipping was set aside off Nova Scotia in Canada.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) ratified a Canadian proposal to designate the 1,800-sq-km zone an "Area to Be Avoided" at a meeting in Denmark. The voluntary restriction asks ship captains to steer around the area. Collisions with container ships are seen as a key threat to right whales, thought to number just 400. The new zone is in the Roseway Basin, south of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. It is close to a major shipping route between North America and Europe, and scientists say the slow-moving mammals have been killed in collisions with huge cargo vessels. The restrictions will apply between 1 June and 31 December, when whales are known to congregate in the area. Despite being protected since 1937 the right whale is close to extinction, with scientists estimating a global population of only 400.

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