Calls For Speed Limit In Alaska After Whale Found On The Bows Of A Ship

An endangered fin whale was found on the bow of Ovation of the Seas, when arriving at port in Seward, Alaska.
The animal was found to have blunt force trauma consistent with being hit by a ship at speed.
This has led to calls to create a speed limit for cruise ships in parts of Alaska.

A controversial debate has begun in Alaska after a Royal Caribbean ship, Ovation of the Seas, arrived at the port of Seward with a dead fin whale on its bow. This has led Alaskan environmentalists to call for mandatory speed limits for cruise ships to try to prevent more incidents in the future.

Ships ported in Juneau — Schrader says: “Not all the cruise ships emit smoke this badly, but many do, and neither state nor federal law is able to effectively restrict the emissions.”

Cooper Freeman, Alaska director at the Centre for Biological Diversity, wrote in an open letter to Royal Caribbean: “I’m infuriated that this supersized cruise ship hit an endangered whale in such a horrific way.

“Royal Caribbean must be held accountable for this gruesome death and take immediate action to avoid this happening again.

The letter goes to call for a maximum speed of 10 knots.

“The best available science establishes that vessel speed is the single most important factor affecting both the probability of a whale strike and the lethality of that strike.

“Adopting 10 knots as a mandatory speed limit for your cruise ships will therefore better protect large whales from suffering deadly ship strikes.”

The Centre for Biological Diversity has long called for speed reductions in Alaskan waters and even filed a lawsuit against the US Coast Guard, alleging that they have failed to protect whales in shipping lanes. They say that ship strikes are the leading cause of death for whales in the region, many species of which are already endangered.

An investigation into the death of the whale by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration revealed that the whale was pregnant, and died due to blunt force trauma to many parts of its body, including the spine, ribs and jaw.

Alaska is home to many species of whales, including humpbacks, orcas, grey whales, beluga whales, fin whales, blue whales and more. Sperm whales, North Pacific right whales, blue whales and fin whales are all endangered.

The cruise season through the northern hemisphere summer aligns with the whale watching season, making it a very popular activity in Alaska. The whales generally migrate to Alaska in these months after spending the winter months in warmer or more tropical waters in Hawaii, Mexico or Central America.

Earlier this year, an endangered Sei whale was found dead on the bow of MSC Meraviglia when it ported in Brooklyn.