Navigate With Care: Protect Our Oceans
Charting a safe course for our ocean
The Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation (KSLOF) and the International Foundation for Aids to Navigation (IFAN) have joined forces to launch the Navigate with Care: Protect Our Oceans campaign. This initiative promotes safe and environmentally responsible boating practices to protect coral reefs, mangroves, and seagrass beds from unintentional damage caused by maritime activities.
Why It Matters
Every year, vessels around the world inadvertently harm marine ecosystems due to a lack of awareness or inadequate navigational planning. Groundings, propeller scarring, and improper anchoring degrade vital habitats that sustain ocean biodiversity and coastal communities. This campaign aims to address these threats by educating mariners about safe navigation, Aids to Navigation (AtoNs), and best practices that enhance both safety at sea and marine conservation.
What to Expect
The Navigate with Care campaign will provide mariners and marine stakeholders with valuable resources to encourage responsible navigation, including:
- Sharing Navigation Best Practices: We will provide boaters with accessible materials and guidance to enhance their understanding of safe navigation practices. These efforts will help ensure that mariners can navigate responsibly around sensitive marine ecosystems—protecting both the marine environment and human safety.
- Educational Content: A short, engaging video highlighting the importance of safe boating, proper use of AtoNs, and ways to minimize environmental impact is currently in the works. Educational materials and social media content with practical boating tips will be distributed online and to boaters through partner organizations around the world.
- Virtual Webinar Series: We are planning to hold a series of expert-led discussions on safe navigation practices, the role of AtoNs, and the impact of boating on marine ecosystems later this year. Be the first to know about upcoming webinars—sign up for our newsletter today.
Join the Movement: Take the Pledge
Commit to navigating with care—and protecting what matters most.
Whether you’re a professional mariner, recreational boater, or ocean advocate, your actions on the water make a difference. By taking the Navigate with Care Pledge, you’re standing up for safer seas and healthier marine ecosystems.
When you take 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 local no-go zones and marine protected areas
- Adhering to SOLAS and COLREGS to prevent collisions and enhance safety at sea
- Promoting safe and sustainable boating by leading through example
As a token of your commitment, you’ll receive a Navigate with Care Badge to show you’re helping protect our oceans—one voyage at a time.
Navigate with Care Webinar Series
Join us for Navigate with Care, a free webinar series designed to empower mariners, conservationists, and ocean advocates with the knowledge and tools to protect sensitive marine ecosystems through safe and sustainable navigation practices. Brought to you by the International Foundation for Aids to Navigation (IFAN) and the Khaled bin Sultan Living Oceans Foundation (KSLOF), these webinars will explore the intersection of boating and marine protection—offering practical advice, real-world case studies, and interactive Q&As. Whether you’re a seasoned captain, a recreational boater, or someone who cares about the ocean, these webinars will help you chart a course that protects both people and the planet.
We hope you can join us for one of our upcoming webinars:
Navigate with Care: Understanding Aids to Navigation
Date: Thursday, September 18, 2025
Time: 10:00 AM EDT / 4:00 PM CEST
Aids to Navigation (AtoNs)—such as buoys, beacons, and channel markers—are essential tools that help mariners safely chart their course. But their role goes far beyond avoiding accidents: when used properly, AtoNs also help protect fragile marine ecosystems and the wildlife that depends on them. From preventing vessel groundings on coral reefs to guiding boats away from marine mammal habitats, AtoNs play a critical part in both maritime safety and ocean conservation. In this webinar, we’ll explore how understanding and using AtoNs contributes to safe and sustainable navigation. Experts will explain how AtoNs are designed, maintained, and deployed—especially in environmentally sensitive areas—and how they interact with marine protected areas, Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs), and coastal ecosystems. We’ll also share real-world examples of how smart use of navigational tools has helped reduce damage to marine habitats and made the seas safer for everyone.
Navigate with Care: Reefs are Nature’s Ally
Date: Thursday, October 16, 2025
Time: 9:00 AM FJT / 5:00 PM EST / 11pm CEST
Coral reefs, mangrove forests, and seagrass meadows are vital coastal ecosystems that do far more than support marine life. They buffer coastlines from storms, support food security through fisheries, drive local economies through tourism, and even contribute to cleaner, healthier waters. But their value often goes unrecognized—until it’s lost. In this session, we’ll spotlight how these habitats benefit boaters, coastal communities, and national economies. Conservation scientists and local leaders will share stories and data on the many services these ecosystems provide, along with what’s at stake if we fail to protect them. Attendees will come away with a deeper understanding of why safeguarding nature is also an investment in safety, livelihoods, and long-term resilience.
Previous Webinars:
Navigate with Care: Introduction to Safe Navigation
Date: Thursday, July 24, 2025
Time: 10:00 AM EDT / 4:00 PM CEST
In this first #NavigateWithCare webinar, we’ll hear from maritime professionals and environmental advocates working at the intersection of ocean safety and sustainability. From the rules that govern waterways to the critical role of Aids to Navigation (AtoNs), this webinar will explore the principles that help mariners avoid accidents and protect fragile marine ecosystems. Groundings, anchor damage, and collisions with marine life are preventable—but only if mariners understand and apply safe navigation practices. Speakers will share best practices and demonstrate how a culture of safe navigation benefits both people and the planet.
Navigate with Care: Environmental Impacts of Boating
Date: Thursday, August 21, 2025
Time: 10:00 AM EDT / 4:00 PM CEST
Every boat that enters the water has the potential to harm marine ecosystems. Whether through propeller scars in seagrass beds, anchors dropped on coral reefs, or noise disrupting sensitive marine species, boating activity leaves a mark. But with the right tools and awareness, these impacts can be minimized. Boaters can be powerful allies in marine conservation—no one is better positioned to protect the ocean than those who rely on it. By navigating with care, boaters can help safeguard marine habitats and lead the way in preserving our oceans for generations to come.
This webinar will examine how boating practices affect marine life, with a special focus on coral reefs, seagrass meadows, and marine mammals. Experts will present science-based insights and offer practical solutions, including the use of mooring buoys, route planning, and properly interpreting navigational aids. We’ll also highlight successful conservation initiatives led by the boating community to reduce threats and protect the marine environment.
Partner Profile
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.
This project has been endorsed by the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development as an official UN Ocean Decade Activity.
