Apparently a cruise ship came into port with a rather large "bug" on their windshield. Makes you wonder how often something like this happens: (
From the Vancouver Sun)
==================================================
Dead whale found wedged against cruise ship By Graeme Wood, Vancouver Sun July 25, 2009
VANCOUVER — A fin whale — a threatened species in Canada — was found dead and firmly wedged against the bow of a cruise ship following its arrival from Alaska.
The ship, Princess Cruise Lines' Sapphire Princess, docked at Canada Place Saturday morning.
"It is unknown how or when this could have happened, as we have strict whale avoidance procedures in place when our ships are in the vicinity of marine life," the cruise line said in a news release.
"We take our responsibility to be good stewards of the marine environment very seriously, and have clear guidelines for our ships on how to operate if whales are sighted nearby, which include altering course and reducing speed as required."
The adult whale was an estimated 70 feet long, according to Lisa Spaven of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
It was wedged on top of the bulbous bow, the part that cuts through the water.
The whale's fin and part of its body protruded from the water as tourists watched from Vancouver's cruise ship terminal.
"It looks so small compared to the boat," said Ed McKeowan, 69, of Chicago.
"I think it's a shame but it's inevitable. Unfortunately we share the sea with the whales," said Ross Harlow, 70, of Whistler.
The ship's captain was unaware of the whale until the vessel had docked, Spaven said.
She said she believes the whale was struck north of Vancouver Island since fin whales are not normally found in the Johnstone or Georgia straits.
The fisheries department will need to conduct a necropsy in order to determine if the ship struck the whale while it was alive or if the whale was floating dead at sea and then got caught in the bow, Spaven said.
The cruise line will cooperate with any investigation into the whale's death, according to the news release.
Two tugboats were hired by the fisheries department to nudge the whale from the bow. It was then moved to a barge on the North Shore where it will eventually be taken to Vancouver Island for examination.
"Vessel strikes are a very real threat to fin whales," Spaven said, adding it is very difficult to put a number on how often whales die due to ship collisions since such incidents may go unreported.
Cruise ships have pre-determined shipping lanes, she said, but such lanes cannot accommodate whale migrating paths since the paths change year by year due to food supply.
Data collected in the U.S. may indicate fin whales are struck more often than any other whale, Spaven said, but the reason why is unknown.
This is the second time in the last 10 years that a cruise vessel has come into the Port of Vancouver with a whale caught on the bow.
In that instance, in June of 1999, the Celebrity Cruise vessel MV Galaxy collided with an adult male fin whale, which likely happened as the ship transited the Hecate Strait north of Vancouver Island.
At the time, marine biologist John Ford of the Vancouver Aquarium, said whales do sometimes collide with ships, but it is unusual for the animals to become caught on the bow.
He said it was interesting that the whale was an adult, apparently in good health, since they are fast swimmers that stay off the continental shelf and away from the shipping lanes of the cruise vessels.
Fin whales flourished in the tens of thousands off the Pacific Coast before heavy commercial whaling in the mid-twentieth century depleted their populations.
