Beneath the Waves: Naval Group Unveils LIFE-SEADETECT to Safeguard Cetaceans

As a segment of the LIFE1 initiative funded by the European Union for environmental and climate action, Naval Group has developed and oversees the SEADETECT project focused on creating an automated detection system for marine mammals to avert collisions between vessels and cetaceans.

This four-year endeavor unites ten collaborators from three European nations: Belgium, France, and Italy. Naval Group’s dedication to this venture reflects its ambition to enhance ecological protection within its operations.

Addressing the repercussions of maritime traffic: a pressing demand for biodiversity

Currently, the global economy is largely reliant on maritime transportation, accounting for 80% of worldwide trade volume and 70% of its value. This extensive traffic entails an escalating number of ships traversing the planet’s seas and oceans, thereby heightening the likelihood of collisions with cetaceans.

Out of the 80 cetacean species worldwide, a quarter are deemed “threatened” while 10% are categorized as “endangered.” The execution of strategies to safeguard them from the relentlessly increasing commercial maritime traffic is becoming an essential issue for biodiversity.

In light of this scenario, Naval Group and its European collaborators are joining forces to create a novel solution that aims to enable vessels outfitted with a SEADETECT unit to diminish collisions with cetaceans by 80%.

SEADETECT – The innovative automated solution to avert collisions

Collisions frequently arise from a combination of three elements: detection ability, crew reaction time, and the duration required to maneuver the vessel, which is influenced by its size, speed, and sea conditions.

The objective of SEADETECT is to supply a tangible and effective approach to autonomously detect cetaceans as well as hazards or floating objects like containers to prevent collisions with ships. With an advanced data fusion and processing system, this technology will allow for the real-time detection of a 2-meter object on the surface from a distance of 1 km, day or night, even in challenging maritime scenarios (harsh sea states or adverse weather conditions).

The project features three components:

• – A system deployed on large vessels offering real-time alerts on deck concerning the identification of ambiguous floating objects, particularly marine mammals.
• – A network of passive acoustic monitoring buoys designed to detect and triangulate the location of cetaceans in real-time.
• – A detection sharing software that utilizes the data acquired to inform equipped vessels of potential collision hazards. To realize this objective, Naval Group and its subsidiary Sirehna, as project coordinators, are leveraging their expertise in perception, monitoring, data merging, artificial intelligence, and asymmetric warfare. Consequently, the SEADETECT system will provide a solution to mitigate the escalating challenge of collisions at sea, benefitting the environment, maritime safety, and cetacean conservation. The project includes the following contributors:

• France: Sirehna, NexVision, Quiet-Oceans, Greenov, Onera, Diades Marine, Bureau Veritas, La Méridionale, Naval Group
• Belgium: Imec (Ghent University), Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences
• Italy: Tethys