Cruise ship docks with dead endangered whale stuck on its bow
A cruise ship arrived at a port in New York City with a 44-foot-long endangered whale caught on its bow dead.
The MSC Meraviglia arrived with the whale stuck at the Port of Brooklyn, before continuing on its route.
‘We can confirm with deep regret that on Saturday a whale was discovered on the bow of our ship as the vessel approached the port of New York,’ MSC Cruises spokesperson Sidney Sterling told Fox News Digital. ‘We immediately notified the relevant authorities, who are now conducting an examination of the whale.’
The whale was identified as a female Sei whale, which is an endangered species and typically lives in deeper waters far from the coastline, wrote the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society on Facebook on Wednesday.
Videos shared on YouTube zoomed in on the large whale floating at the bow of the ship and showed the Statue of Liberty farther away in the background.
The whale towed to shore at Sandy Hook in New Jersey ‘to allow for better access to heavy equipment and resources to conduct a necropsy’, said the conservation society.
An autopsy showed the whale had trauma along its right shoulder blade and had a fractured right flipper. It was still filled with food. Tissue and bone samples will be used to determine if its interaction with the ship was pre or post mortem, according to the organization.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Law Enforcement is investigating the incident.
Sterling said the cruise line is ‘deeply saddened by the loss of any marine life’.
‘We have comprehensive measures in place to help avoid collisions, such as training all our deck officers with the Ocean Research & Conservation Association (ORCA) and we follow regulations designed to protect whales and other marine life,’ stated Sterling
‘This includes altering itineraries in certain regions to avoid whales and we will continue to evaluate and update our procedures with our partners and the authorities.’
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.