Pregnant Endangered Fin Whale Found Dead On Cruise Ship Bow In Alaska

A pregnant fin whale, an endangered species, was found dead on the bow of a Royal Caribbean cruise ship after it arrived in Seward, Alaska, on Friday, prompting a federal investigation into what appears to be another fatal vessel strike.

Initial findings from a necropsy showed the 61-foot adult female whale was pregnant, NOAA Fisheries Alaska said.

The agency is working with the Alaska SeaLife Center to determine the exact cause of death after the whale was found on the ship’s bulbous bow when it docked.

The incident has once again raised concerns over ship strikes, which NOAA says are one of the biggest threats to endangered fin whales.

The only cruise ship scheduled to arrive in Seward that day was Ovation of the Seas, operated by Royal Caribbean Group. The 14-deck ship can carry more than 4,000 passengers.

Royal Caribbean said the whale was struck while the ship was on its way to Seward and that the crew immediately reported the incident to authorities.

“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 company said.

It added that the ship reported the incident immediately and is fully cooperating with NOAA while waiting for the final necropsy results.

After the ship arrived, the whale was towed to a nearby beach, where experts from NOAA Fisheries and the Alaska SeaLife Center began examining it. Officials have asked people to stay away from the beach while samples are being collected.

The NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement has launched an investigation and is asking anyone with information about the incident to contact its 24-hour enforcement hotline.

NOAA also reminded the public that it is illegal to collect tissue, baleen or any other part of the whale unless the person is an Alaska Native collecting it for subsistence or use in handicrafts.

Fin whales are listed as endangered under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. They are the second-largest animals on Earth after blue whales, growing up to 85 feet long, weighing between 40 and 80 tons, and living for as long as 90 years.

According to NOAA, nearly 725,000 fin whales were killed in the Southern Hemisphere during the peak of industrial whaling in the mid-20th century.

While commercial whaling is no longer considered a major threat to the species, vessel strikes have become one of the biggest dangers they face.

Similar incidents have occurred before. Earlier this year, the Marine Mammal Stranding Center investigated a fin whale found on the bow of a ship in Camden County, New Jersey.

In November 2024, another dead fin whale washed ashore near Anchorage’s Tony Knowles Coastal Trail. About a decade ago, a Holland America cruise ship also arrived in Seward with a dead fin whale attached to its bow.

Efforts are also underway to better understand how ships can avoid hitting whales. This summer, MSC Cruises will carry a marine mammal observer on one of its ships sailing between Seattle and Alaska’s Inside Passage as part of research aimed at reducing whale strikes.

Conservation groups have also criticised the recent killing of two fin whales by Icelandic whalers after the country’s commercial whaling resumed following a pause since 2023.

NOAA said the necropsy and the law enforcement investigation are ongoing as officials work to determine exactly how the whale died.

References: CBS News, Alaska Public