Overview
- The 61-foot adult female fin whale was discovered draped over the bulbous bow of Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas when the ship docked in Seward and the carcass was towed to a nearby beach for examination.
- A preliminary necropsy found the whale was pregnant, in good nutritional condition, and had blunt-force injuries to its jaw, spine and ribs that are consistent with a vessel strike but the official cause of death awaits months of histological and diagnostic testing.
- NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement has opened an investigation into whether the incident constitutes an illegal “take” under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act.
- Royal Caribbean says it reported the incident and is cooperating with authorities while conservation groups are pressing the cruise industry to adopt or voluntarily follow speed limits of about 10 knots in whale habitat to cut collision risk.
- Officials plan to tow the carcass back out to sea so it will sink and feed deep-sea life, and the case highlights the vulnerability of endangered fin whales and ongoing tensions between large cruise operations and whale-protection measures.