NEW “NAVIGATE WITH CARE” FLAGSHIP VIDEO PROMOTES SAFE BOATING PRACTICES THAT PROTECT BOTH PEOPLE AND FRAGILE MARINE HABITATS
World Maritime Day 2025 marks a pivotal moment for global maritime safety and ocean protection. To celebrate the occasion, the International Foundation for Aids to Navigation (IFAN) and the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation (KSLOF) are giving fresh momentum to their joint Navigate with Care campaign by releasing its flagship video, Navigate with Care: Protect Our Oceans. The short film shows how mariners can take simple steps to safeguard marine ecosystems while staying safe at sea.
Every year, World Maritime Day highlights the importance of shipping and maritime activities to people everywhere. This year, KSLOF and IFAN are shining a spotlight on how all mariners — from recreational boaters to commercial ship captains — can play a role in keeping our oceans safe. The video reveals how careful navigation can prevent devastating damage to coral reefs, seagrass beds, mangrove forests, and the marine life that depends on them.
“Boating connects us to the ocean, but it also comes with responsibility,” said Alexandra Dempsey, CEO of the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation. “With this video, we want to empower mariners everywhere to make choices that protect both their safety and the incredible marine life beneath their hulls.”
Catherine Mulvihill, CEO of IFAN, added: “Safe navigation is about more than rules of the road at sea. It’s about protecting mariners and their vessels, while also taking responsibility to avoid damage to fragile marine habitats and creatures. By navigating with care, we make it safer for everyone — above and below the surface.”
As an official activity of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (“the Ocean Decade”), the Navigate with Care campaign contributes directly to global efforts to safeguard the ocean and its ecosystems while ensuring safer seas for all. The newly launched video will serve as a cornerstone of the campaign, providing a go-to tool for quick reference and outreach across the maritime community.
On World Maritime Day, IFAN and KSLOF invite mariners, ocean professionals, and ocean lovers everywhere to watch and share the video and to take the pledge to Navigate with Care.
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.
About the International Foundation for Aids to Navigation (IFAN):
The International Foundation for Aids to Navigation (IFAN) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing maritime safety, protecting marine ecosystems, and strengthening global navigation capabilities. IFAN ensures safer and more efficient shipping routes while minimizing environmental risks by providing and maintaining Aids to Navigation (AtoNs), supporting regional operations, and delivering specialized training. Through strategic partnerships, funding, and technical expertise, IFAN plays a pivotal role in securing safe, sustainable global waterways and safeguarding the world’s oceans for future generations.
To learn more or inquire about funding opportunities, visit www.ifan-maritime.org.
About the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation (KSLOF):
The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation is a nonprofit environmental organization dedicated to protecting and restoring the health of the world’s oceans. Through science, outreach, and education, the Foundation works to conserve coral reefs and other tropical marine ecosystems, enhance ocean literacy, and inspire conservation action. As part of its commitment to Science Without Borders®, the Foundation provides educational resources and programs to empower people worldwide to protect our living oceans for future generations. Learn more at www.livingoceansfoundation.org.
About the UN Ocean Decade:
Proclaimed in 2017 by the United Nations General Assembly, the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) (‘the Ocean Decade’) seeks to stimulate ocean science and knowledge generation to reverse the decline of the state of the ocean system and catalyze new opportunities for sustainable development of this massive marine ecosystem. The vision of the Ocean Decade is ‘the science we need for the ocean we want’. The Ocean Decade provides a convening framework for scientists and stakeholders from diverse sectors to develop the scientific knowledge and the partnerships needed to accelerate and harness advances in ocean science to achieve a better understanding of the ocean system, and deliver science-based solutions to achieve the 2030 Agenda. The UN General Assembly mandated UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) to coordinate the preparations and implementation of the Decade. Learn more at www.oceandecade.org
