Pregnant whale found dead on bow of cruise ship, authorities say

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU/Gray News) – A pregnant fin whale was found dead on the bow of a cruise ship in Alaska last week.

A necropsy performed over the weekend by NOAA Fisheries, the Alaska SeaLife Center and Alaska Veterinary Pathology Services found blunt force trauma to be the cause of death.

The cruise ship arrived at the dock in Seward last Friday with the dead 61-foot adult female fin whale on top of the ship’s bulbous bow.

A local company towed the whale to a nearby beach for a necropsy.

The examination revealed that the whale was pregnant and “freshly dead, and in good nutritional condition,” with plenty of blubber and muscle.

Preliminary necropsy findings showed blunt force trauma to the jaw, spine and ribs consistent with a vessel strike, the agency said.

The official cause of death is pending further histological and diagnostic testing of collected samples, which can take months to complete. Additionally, the law enforcement investigation is ongoing.

“Ship strikes are already a leading cause of whale mortality in U.S. waters and the threat is growing,” Rick Steiner, a marine ecologist and chair of PEER’s board of directors, said. “Simply put, many of our busiest coastal shipping routes are death traps for whales.”

The cruise ship involved was the Royal Caribbean vessel Ovation of the Seas.

Steiner says ships can go anywhere from 22 to 24 knots, but the industry should adopt a slower speed of 10 knots or less during the day and 8 knots or less at night.

Plans are currently underway to arrange for the whale carcass to be towed out to sea as soon as possible, where it is expected to sink and nourish a wide variety of deep-sea marine life.