Shipping has been proven to be problematic for marine mammals such as whales and dolphins, as accidents that can be fatal to the animals occur again and again. Not only the contact with screws, but also the noise can severely affect the marine mammals.

According to the NGO Ocean Care, the shipping company MSC is now reacting to the fact that a largely isolated population of 200 to 300 sperm whales lives in the Hellenic Trench. The routes are changed on both cruises and cargo connections in order to avoid collisions, which can end fatally for the animals.

The organization considers MSC's decision to be "long overdue" and welcomes it in the interests of whale protection. One appeals to other shipping companies to follow this example, "because for the sperm whales in the eastern Mediterranean is one of the last chances to survive".

Researchers estimate that around 5.000 to 200 sperm whales live in the Hellenic Trench, which is up to 300 meters deep. They are supposed to stay there all year round and are therefore largely isolated from their conspecifics, which are native to other regions of the world. Sperm whales are particularly prone to involuntary collisions with ships. Nobody knows the exact reason for this, but it should lie in the species-specific behavior.