Whale struck by cruise ship

A cruise ship that had been travelling through Alaskan waters arrived in port at Vancouver, Canada with a 70 ton fin whale stuck to the front. Scientists will now perform an autopsy on the mammal to find out whether it died as a result of the collision or was already dead.

Crowds gathered to see the sight before personnel arrived from a marine mammal response team to retrieve the whale. Scientists will take quite some time to examine the mammal and after the exam is done they will dispose of the remains at sea.

When whales die they usually sink to the bottom of the ocean floor and are vital in the cycle of the oceans ecosystem and some are even down there for years.

Crew aboard the ship were said to be unaware of the whale until they arrived in Vancouver, which is troubling for the company as they have guidelines on action to take when sighting whales at sea.

“It is unknown how or when this could have happened, as we have strict whale avoidance procedures in place when our ships are in the vicinity of marine life. We have clear guidelines for our ships on how to operate if whales are sighted nearby, which include altering course and reducing speed as required,” read a statement by Princess Cruise Lines, who operate the cruise ship.

Thanks to www.dailymail.co.uk for the above quote, for more details on this article please visit their website.