Viking Yachts Fights Whale Speed Limits

Advancements in recreational-marine technology mean recreational boats can more effectively avoid whales. SoftFocusPhoto/stock.adobe.com

The year 2008 was almost two decades ago. That’s the year when the federal government finalized a rule that says vessels 65 feet or larger have to slow to 10 knots or less when they’re cruising in seasonal management areas, which are intended to protect North Atlantic right whales.

The 2008 rule is still in place, even though a newer speed-restriction proposal, put forward in 2022 for smaller boats, has been rescinded. “There still are issues with the 2008 rule,” says John DePersenaire, director of government affairs and sustainability at Viking Yachts. “It’s having a real impact on business decisions.”

Customers who might purchase a Viking 68, he says, are instead going with the Viking 64—even though technology that can help to prevent whale strikes has advanced significantly in the past two decades. “Thermal cameras were just emerging in 2008,” he says. “They were crazy expensive. Not a lot of people had them. Now it’s just standard on any boat over 65-foot. The iPhone had just come out back then. Look at that phone compared to what we have now. The pace of technological improvements is just incredible.”

For all these reasons and more, Viking is continuing its work with the WAVS task force. The team is talking with government regulators to establish other ways to address concerns about whale protection with boats 65 feet and larger. “There is a better way of dealing with this conservation issue,” DePersenaire says, adding that boats this size have human advantages too. “Once you’re at a 65-foot, it’s almost all professional crew running and maintaining that boat. It’s a whole different world.”  

Time for a Review, Perhaps

Viking Yachts’ John DePersenaire says he’d like to see a review of the speed-restriction rule for yachts 65 feet and larger. Such reviews are possible under the Regulatory Flexibility Act. “Rules shouldn’t be set and then we forget about them in perpetuity,” he says. “Sometimes technology comes into place that can do what the rule was intended to do, but in a better way.”

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