A cruise ship struck a pregnant fin whale in waters off the coast of Alaska, killing the endangered marine mammal.
The National Marine Fisheries Service, also known as NOAA Fisheries, said on social media Sunday that the cruise ship docked in Seward, Alaska, 1,385 miles northwest of Seattle on Friday with the dead whale on its bow.
A local company then towed the deceased pregnant whale to a beach so that a necropsy could be performed. The whale was 61 feet long and belonged to an endangered species, the fin whale.
The only cruise ship due in Seward on Friday was the Royal Caribbean ship Ovation of the Seas, according to Alaska Public Media.
In a statement, Royal Caribbean said that “we are saddened to hear that one of our ships struck a whale while on its way to Seward.
“We take any impact to marine ecosystems very seriously. The ship immediately reported the incident to the proper authorities. We are cooperating fully with NOAA and are awaiting the necropsy results,” the statement said, according to the Alaska Beacon.
Fin whales are the second-largest species of whale in the world and are considered the second-most susceptible to being struck by boats, according to the NOAA Fisheries website.
In 2016, a Holland America ship, the Zaandam, arrived in Seward with a dead fin whale on its bow, according to the Anchorage Daily News.
