Cruise Ship Skewers Endangered Whale
Whale Found On Bow Of Celebrity Cruise Lines - Summit
Seward Alaska - August 19, 2006
Cruise Bruise: Whale Death
Bruise Location: Near Seward Alaska
Cruise Line: Celebrity Cruise Lines
Ship: Summit
Details:
The Celebrity cruise ship, Summit hit a 30 foot whale somewhere after leaving Disenchantment Bay near Yakutat, Alaska
The whale was discovered on the bow of the Summit, after the vessel apparently hit the whale enroute to the port of Seward Alaska.
The whale has been identified as a humpback, an endangered species. It was towed by a tugboat Saturday August 19, 2006, in the afternoon to a nearby beach.
A necropsy has been scheduled to help determine whether the whale was alive or dead when it was struck.
The whale was spotted by longshoremen at the Seward dock, having apparently gone undetected by the crew prior to making port.
A Celebrity Cruises spokesperson told the Anchorage Daily News the company notified federal and state agencies and the Seward police after discovering the whale at the dock.
This is the second time a whale has been found on the bow of a cruise ship since September 2004.
Only last week, government hearings we held to hear arguments in proposed changes to the speeds in areas the whales use for migration. NOAA will decide whether to impose a speed limit by spring for ships longer than 65 feet, which sometimes travel at 20 knots or faster. Limits of 10, 12 or 14 knots are being considered.
The killing of whales by ships became a subject of concern in the Chesapeake region most recently in April, when a rare sei whale was struck by a container ship that dragged its carcass into Baltimore Harbor.
More than 20 killings of whales during collisions with ships have been confirmed along the East Coast over the past four years.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration thinks slowing down larger ships will mean fewer fatalities, said Gregory K. Silber, its coordinator of whale recovery activities.
Royal Caribbean’s liner Jewel of the Seas was cruising the Gulf of St. Lawrence when it struck a 60-foot-long finback whale somewhere between Quebec City and the Bay of Fundy on September 29, 2004.
The cruise ship arrived at the port of Saint John, New Brunswick Canada with a dead whale impaled on its bow.
In that case, the Canadian coast guard towed the dead whale out to sea, and no necropsy was performed to detemine cause of death.
Shipping routes through the Bay of Fundy were changed in 2003 to protect the endangered Right Whale. Finback Whales are relatively common.
According to a January 2004 U.S. government report, 42 whales had been impaled on the bows of ships, including tankers, cargo ships, and cruise ships in the prior year. Of those accidents, 11 species of whale were included finback, humpback, blue, gray, minke, Byrde's, sei, north Atlantic right, souther right, sperm and killer.
There are a total of 292 ship strikes in the data base to date. But in only 134 cases are the type of vessel that made the strike known. 12.7% of those are for cruise ship strikes. Cruise ships at sea comprise less than 1% of all vessels at sea including all others known to strike to whales such as military vessels, cargo ships, tankers, ferries, and whale watching vessels.
Cruise lines complain that any lower speeds will cut into their profits on trips from the northeast United States to the Caribbean as voyages are lengthened due to lower speeds.
Unlikely complaints have been heard from the whale watching industry who complain the longer trips at lower speeds will hurt their sales as well. They seem to be willing to endanger the whales they exploit, in the name of profits. They account for 14% of all whale strikes.
The U.S Coast Guard is responsible for 6.7% of all strikes. They are accounted for seperately from the U.S Navy, which is responsible for 17.1% of all vessel known strikes.
Cruise Line: Celebrity Cruise Lines
Ship: Summit
Built: 2001
Refurbished: N/A
Registry: Bahamas
Size: 91,000 Gross Tons
Length: 965 Feet
Passengers: 1,950
Crew: 999
Bow Webcam > Here
