A new initiative called “10,000 Ships for the Ocean” was launched last week to enhance weather forecasting and ocean monitoring. Currently, only 2,000 ships are equipped for this purpose, leaving significant gaps in data collection over the world’s oceans, which cover more than 70% of the Earth. The initiative aims to increase this fleet to 10,000 commercial vessels, providing real-time data that will improve the accuracy of weather forecasts and climate monitoring.
Key partners in this initiative include the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, and the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Notably, Norwegian shipping company Höegh Autoliners has pledged to support the project by committing its fleet to enhance ocean data collection, benefiting both society and maritime operations.
Florence Rabier, ECMWF’s Director General, emphasized that this initiative will help address the current disparity in data collection, as ocean data is used 15 times less than land-based meteorological data. This effort is part of a broader reform to upgrade ocean monitoring, including the evolution of the Argo program, which will deploy 1,200 new floats to monitor ocean conditions down to 6,000 meters by 2030.