Take the Pledge to Navigate with Care

October 28, 2025

Written by Liz Thompson

Every voyage leaves a mark. Whether you’re steering a small recreational boat, running a dive operation, or captaining a commercial vessel, the way you navigate the seas matters—not just for your safety, but for the health of our oceans.

The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation, in partnership with the International Foundation for Aids to Navigation (IFAN), launched the Navigate with Care campaign to help mariners around the world protect what matters most: our safety, our vessels, and the marine ecosystems that sustain life on Earth.

Take the Pledge

Join mariners around the world who are committing to safer seas and healthier oceans.

When you take the Navigate with Care Pledge, you’re standing up for responsible navigation and sustainable boating practices that protect both people and marine life.

Every mariner has a role to play in ocean stewardship. By navigating with care, you protect not only the marine life beneath your vessel but also your crew, your community, and the ocean we all depend on.

By signing the pledge, you commit to:

Using navigation tools and Aids to Navigation (AtoNs) to avoid damaging sensitive marine habitats.
Anchoring and navigating responsibly to prevent harm to coral reefs, seagrass beds, and mangrove forests.
Following the IALA Maritime Buoyage System and respecting marine protected areas.
Adhering to SOLAS and COLREGS to prevent collisions and enhance safety at sea.
Leading by example and promoting sustainable boating practices.

When you take the pledge, you’ll receive a Navigate with Care badge to display proudly—showing your commitment to protecting our oceans, one voyage at a time.

Join the movement. Take the pledge. Then share the message to help others #NavigateWithCare.

Why Navigating with Care Matters

Across the world, coral reefs, seagrass meadows, and mangrove forests are under threat—not just from pollution and climate change, but from everyday boating activities. Anchors dropped on coral reefs, propellers cutting through seagrass, and vessels running aground in shallow waters can cause long-lasting damage to fragile marine habitats.

But it doesn’t have to be that way. With the right knowledge and navigation practices, mariners can help preserve these ecosystems for generations to come.

Learn More: Watch the Navigate with Care Video

To show how small actions on the water can make a big difference, the Foundation and IFAN created a short video, “Navigate with Care: Protect Our Oceans,” released for World Maritime Day. The video highlights simple steps mariners can take to avoid damaging sensitive marine environments while keeping themselves and their vessels safe.

Navigate With Care

Navigate with Care is a joint campaign by the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation and the International Foundation for Aids to Navigation. It promotes safe and environmentally responsible navigation practices that protect both people and marine life.

Learn More

From Dialogue to Action: Ocean Foundations Gather in Stockholm

What can philanthropy accomplish when foundations working across ocean science, conservation, and sustainable development come together around a shared purpose?

That question was at the heart of the 6th UN Ocean Decade Foundations Dialogue, held September 7–9 in Stockholm, Sweden. The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation joined philanthropic organizations from around the world for three days of discussion, collaboration, and planning focused on accelerating progress during the second half of the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

Facilitated by UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC), the UN Ocean Decade Foundations Dialogue is a growing network of more than 30 philanthropic organizations committed to advancing ocean science, collaboration, and action. Since its creation within the framework of the Ocean Decade, the Dialogue has provided foundations with a space to exchange ideas, develop partnerships, and explore how philanthropy can help advance a healthy and resilient ocean.

Hosted by the Voice of the Ocean Foundation (VOTO), this year’s gathering began with From Depth to Action, an Opening Forum that brought nearly 100 leaders from the Swedish and international ocean community together at…

Meet IFAN: Helping Bring Navigate with Care to the Next Generation

If you’ve ever seen a lighthouse flashing from the shore or a brightly colored buoy bobbing in the water, you’ve seen Aids to Navigation at work.

Aids to Navigation, often called AtoNs, help mariners navigate safely. They can mark channels, warn of hazards, help vessels determine their position, and provide other information people need to make safe decisions on the water. Around the world, these systems help guide everything from small recreational boats to large commercial or container ships.

But safe navigation isn’t only about protecting vessels and the people aboard them. The choices mariners make can also affect the animals and ecosystems beneath and around them.

That connection between maritime safety and ocean conservation is at the heart of this year’s Science Without Borders® Challenge—and of our partnership with this year’s theme sponsor, the International Foundation for Aids to Navigation (IFAN).