Story by Royal Australian Navy By LSIS Kylie Jagiello

As stewards of the sea, our nations’ navies are implementing protective environmental measures during Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) 2022.

Protection of marine species and prompt incident reporting are essential tasks to ensure success.

With 20-years military experience and 10 RIMPAC exercises under his belt, Navy Mitigation Compliance Team Lead Steve Loeffler said visual detection of marine mammals plays a critical role.

“There are 28 species of marine mammals here in Hawaii, with 10 of those endangered,” Mr Loeffler said.

“Lookouts are located on the bridge and fantail of our vessels. They conduct marine species awareness training annually.

“Following the protective measures in the National Marine Fisheries Services permit, we are doing everything we can to protect the environment while still conducting training.”

Not just relying on lookouts, passive sonar operators are responsible in reporting all indications of marine activity and informing lookouts.

Aviation units conduct surveillance whenever operationally feasible and safe.

Before commencing amphibious landing exercises, affected beaches are surveyed for sea turtles, nesting sites and Hawaiian monk seals.

The impact on and protecting the natural environment is one of New Zealand Defence Force’s security objectives.

HMNZS Commanding Officer Commander Dave Barr said the effects of climate change are felt acutely in New Zealand and the Pacific.

The impact has potential to increase weather extremes and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations in their neighborhood.

“Our approach to the environment is guided by the principle of kaitiakitanga (guardianship), of the natural environment for future generations, seeking to protect taonga (treasures) and recognizing the mauri (life force) of the environment,” said Barr.

“We only have one planet and so it is beholden on us now to do our part for those who will come after us, so they have a world to enjoy.”

A part of the NZDF mitigation strategy is to reduce the impact on the climate and wider natural environment; also affecting the decision making around new capability acquisitions.

This ensures that the new technologies that the NZDF introduces have less impact on the climate than the ones they replace.

Utilizing world-first naval “environship”, the bow of HMNZS Aotearoa incorporates a wave-piercing design, reducing resistance and lowering fuel burn.

The combined diesel electric and propulsion plant includes features for reducing nitrogen oxides, giving lower fuel emissions than older vessels.

For the duration of the exercise, daily environmental mitigation reports will be collected, showing marine mammal sightings and the action conducted due to their presence.

Twenty-six nations, 38 ships, four submarines, more than 170 aircraft and 25,000 personnel are participating in RIMPAC from June 29 to Aug. 4 in and around the Hawaiian Islands and Southern California. The world’s largest international maritime exercise, RIMPAC provides a unique training opportunity while fostering and sustaining cooperative relationships among participants critical to ensuring the safety of sea lanes and security on the world’s oceans. RIMPAC 2022 is the 28th exercise in the series that began in 1971.

The success of Navy’s at-sea environmental stewardship program contributes to the success of military missions, all while preserving the ocean environment for future generations.

Further information on US Navy environmental programs can be found at: https://www.usff.navy.mil/environmental/ and https://www.navymarinespeciesmonitoring.us/.

National Marine Fisheries Services permit on Hawaii-Southern California training and testing can be found at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/action/incidental-take-authorization-us-navy-hawaii-southern-california-training-and-testing-hstt.

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