SC Senator Joins Harbor Pilots Against Boat-Slowing Rule That Protects Endangered Whale

As North Atlantic right whales begin their annual migration toward South Carolina’s waters, a Palmetto State senator is leaning into his opposition to proposed vessel restrictions meant to protect the critically endangered animals.

“To mandate 10 knots (of speed) is going to put the lives of these men and women (pilots) at risk to no benefit of the whale,” Sen. Lindsey Graham said Oct. 5 while touring the docks and facility of the Charleston Branch Pilots Association. The facility sits on Charleston Harbor overlooking the city’s iconic Arthur Ravenel Jr. bridge.