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Dead Whale Found Stuck on Cruise Ship

By Mat Probasco, Newser Staff

Posted Jul 27, 2009 2:34 AM CDT

(Newser) – Researchers want to know what killed a rare whale found lodged on the bow of an Alaskan cruise ship docked in Vancouver. It took two tug boats to remove the impaled 70-ton middle-aged fin whale from the Sapphire Princess' bow, reports the Vancouver Sun. Tourists gathered to watch the gruesome spectacle.

A necropsy on the fin whale, a threatened species, will likely determine the cause of death. “We don't know a lot about fin whales. They’re called the greyhounds of the sea because they’re quick,” said a marine mammal expert. A burial at sea is planned.

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A diver secures ropes around the carcass of a whale lodged at the bow of a Princess Cruise Lines ship. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darryl Dyck)

The carcass of a whale, lower left, sits lodged at the bow of a cruise ship after docking in Vancouver, BC. The whale was discovered when the ship docked in Vancouver after traveling from Alaska. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darryl Dyck)

Department of Fisheries and Oceans officials look at the carcass of a whale lodged at the bow of a Princess Cruise Lines ship after docking in Vancouver, B.C., on Saturday July 25, 2009. The whale was... (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Darryl Dyck)

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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. - Statement from Princess Cruises

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