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Good day,

We’re pleased to share BWBS's latest quarterly newsletter, featuring 2025 Vessel Speed Reduction (VSR) Season results, latest news ,and opportunities to connect at our upcoming awards ceremony. BWBS sincerely appreciates your leadership and collaboration, driving meaningful progress for whale protection and air quality.



We are proud to announce the 2025 VSR Season results from the efforts of participating shipping lines. Over the season, 787 participating vessels traveled over 481,000 nautical miles at whale-safer speeds of 10 knots or less. This is up from ~425,900 nautical miles and 743 participating vessels in the prior 2024 VSR Season.

The VSR zones were expanded in 2025 to include Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary (CHNMS), increasing the coverage of important whale habitat off California’s coast by ~2,600 square miles. To support greater conservation impact, the award category thresholds were also increased, Blue Sky (50-69%), Gold (70-89%) and Sapphire (90%+).

We are proud to recognize the 42 shipping lines that met these increased award thresholds. Leading the industry are 22 Sapphire Award winners, followed by 10 Gold and 10 Blue Sky awardees.  These companies rose to the challenge of expanded zones and increased cooperation rate threshold levels, continuing to set the pace for environmental leadership across the maritime sector.

BWBS is also proud to recognize the ambassadors that have demonstrated a high level of commitment to shipping with or working with participating shipping lines. JAS Worldwide, Who Gives A Crap, and Nomad Goods were recognized as Sapphire ambassadors, and The Block Logistics and Port of Oakland were recognized as Gold. 

See here for the full results. Participating shipping lines and their latest award levels are also included here.

 
Thank you to all participating shipping lines and ambassadors for working together for their continued leadership and commitment to whale-safer shipping.

During the 2024 VSR Season, 38 cruise ships from 17 companies traveled approximately 24,000 nautical miles through the California VSR zones. BWBS is excited to now offer cruise lines transiting off California’s coast the opportunity to participate in the program starting in the 2026 VSR Season! 

“Cruise ships are historically some of the fastest-moving large vessels in our region. Every year, we see more and more cruise lines proactively reaching out to understand where and when they should reduce speeds to keep whales safe and for opportunities to get more involved. We look forward to welcoming them in for the 2026 season and are excited to see what we can accomplish together.” -  California Marine Sanctuary Foundation Director of Marine Resource Protection, Jess Morten.


See here for press and background on this opportunity.

For further details on how to enroll, or to set up an initial call, see here.

This past October, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 14, “Coastal Resources: Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies Program (AB-14), making California the first state in the country to strengthen a voluntary effort to reduce air pollution and risks to endangered whale populations.


Thanks to AB-14, spearheaded by Assemblymember Gregg Hart, protections will expand, and BWBS becomes a statewide voluntary program, with California’s Ocean Protection Council as a new partner.

Read more about what it means and what’s next here. 

Join us in celebrating the leadership of our top-performing shipping lines and ambassadors from the 2025 VSR Season.

The ceremony will be held on April 22nd at Scott's Jack London Square at the Port of Oakland!

Further details, including the full agenda, will be shared with the formal invite to follow. For now, we hope you will mark your calendar and plan to join us.

Companies interested in supporting the event are invited to review our Sponsorship Package outlining available opportunities. Please reach out to Becca@CaliforniaMSF.org for further details or to reserve your spot!

As a voluntary initiative, BWBS relies not only on vessel participation but also on the visibility, credibility, and amplification through collaboration with our partners, ambassadors, and participating shipping lines.

The 2025 Year In Review and Marketing Report is now out, documenting how the program was represented across earned media, press releases, partner reporting, ambassador communications, and industry channels. It provides a consolidated view of how collaborative action has extended the reach and recognition of vessel speed reduction as an effective approach to protecting whales and clean air.

We are thrilled to welcome five new ambassadors that have joined us since our last newsletter! Please join us in welcoming: Decker’s Brands (HOKA, UGG, and Teva), Honeylove, and Cotopaxi. 

Ambassadors include consumer goods, brands, ports, and logistics companies that work with at least one of the program’s enrolled shipping carriers, and work to celebrate participating shipping lines’ efforts, amplify the program, and drive demand to our participating shipping lines. For the full list of our Ambassadors, see here.

Please email becca@CaliforniaMSF.org for more information, or if you know a company that might be interested.

Protecting Blue Whales and Blue Skies (BWBS) is a collaborative effort by the California Marine Sanctuary Foundation; Ventura County Air Pollution Control District; Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District; San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution Control District; Monterey Bay Air Resources District; Bay Area Air District; Channel Islands, Chumash Heritage, Greater Farallones, Cordell Bank, and Monterey Bay national marine sanctuaries; Benioff Ocean Science Laboratory; and Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

A partnership for safer whales, cleaner air, and a quieter ocean.

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