Cruise Ship Finds 50,000-Pound Dead Sei Whale; Investigations Suggest That Endangered Species Could Have Died After Being Struck by the Vessel

(Photo : Pixabay / FutureGirl)

Just recently, a cruise ship went to a port with a stinky stowaway that was surprisingly lodged to its bow. This was, apparently, a dead, rotting whale.

Cruise Ship Finds Dead Whale

The MSC Mervagilia cruise ship reached New York Harbor with a sei whale that was dead and pinned on its bow. Such a revelation has sparked a federal investigation, leading biologists to examine the carcass in order to know more about the cause of its death. The Office of Law Enforcement of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is behind the investigations.

The whale was towed on Wednesday to Sandy Hook in New Jersey for a necropsy. The NOAA explains that officials found that the whale had broken bone in its right flipper, a food-filled belly, and tissue trauma on the region of its right shoulder blade. Biologists gathered samples for analyses of histopathologic and biotoxins.

Andrea Gomez, a spokeswoman for NOAA, says the bone and tissue samples could aid biologists in determining whether the whale died as a result of the collision or before it happened.

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Cause of the Whale's Demise

The Atlantic Marine Conservation Society is leading the examination of the whale. The results may take days to weeks to complete.

Nevertheless, based on the initially released findings, Andy Rogan, the science manager of Ocean Alliance, which is a whale conservation and research nonprofit, said that the cruise ship was likely behind the demise of the whale. If this were the case, the whale could have had a sudden death.

Rogan explains that though whales are massive animals, in comparison to such a big ship, the impact is still massive. There was strong power and weight that was hitting the whale. Rogan adds that it is almost certain that the whale was killed by a ship strike.

Marine Safety Concerns

The NOAA notes that entanglement in fishing gear and vessel strikes are among the biggest threats faced by sei whales.

These sei whales are endangered species that dwell in the depths of the coastline. While figures of their population are quite elusive, NOAA was able to document around 6,300 sei whales between Nova Scotia and Florida from 2010 to 2013.

During this time of the year, these sei whales feed. They reportedly eat on the surface, making them within the potential bull's eye range for vessel collisions.

Kathleen Collins, the senior marine campaign manager of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, says that passengers and crew members of the ship could not have felt the collision due to the size of the ship. For comparison, sei whales can weigh up to 50 tons, while the MSC Meraviglia weighs around 171,598 tons.

NOAA is urging boaters on the East Coast to stay alert, cruise slowly, and report sightings of injured, entangled, or dead whales and right whales. The MSC also revealed in a statement that it adhered to great measures to avoid accidents involving marine life.

Collins notes that the voluntary reduction of vessel speeds could help with the avoidance of run-ins, adding that mortality chances significantly go down when vessel speed is reduced. She notes, however, that large tankers and cruise ships usually prefer brisk movement due to their tight schedules.