Underwater noise created by shipping can stop whales from being able to communicate with each other and can interfere with their navigation, causing them to be disoriented or isolated from the rest of their group. Prolonged exposure to loud sounds may even result in hearing loss or injury.

Interestingly, marine biology research indicates that whales—particularly large species like Blue whales—do not always avoid ships, which is why ship strikes remain a leading cause of whale mortality in 2026. Evolutionarily, whales have not had to deal with fast-moving, massive predators for millions of years, so they have not developed a "flight" response to large vessels. Instead of swimming away laterally, many whales perform a "response dive" where they sink horizontally. This is often too slow to clear the hull of a large cargo ship traveling at high speeds. Furthermore, the "acoustic shadow" created by the front of a large ship can make the vessel surprisingly quiet until it is dangerously close. While some whales may be startled by the noise, they often do not perceive the ship as a direct threat until impact is imminent. Conservation efforts now focus on slowing ship speeds in "whale zones" to give the animals more time to perform these slow dives.