Courtesy of News.com.au @
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,25837203-23109,00.htmlDead whale stuck on cruise ship
From correspondents in Vancouver, Canada
July 26, 2009 11:17am
A CRUISE ship has arrived at the Port of Vancouver with a dead whale lodged in its bow.
The Princess Cruise Lines' Sapphire Princess was docked at the Canada Place terminal on Saturday with the whale still stuck to it.
The ship arrived on Saturday morning on its return from the Alaska run with the whale firmly wedged in the bulbous bow, the Vancouver Sun reported on its website. See photos of the whale here.
The whale's fin and part of its back was protruding from the water.
Lisa Spaven, from the the BC Marine Mammal Response Network, told the Sun it appeared to be a fin whale, a threatened species in Canada.
She estimated the whale was about 20 metres long.
Ms Spaven said the ship's captain wasn't aware of the whale until the ship docked at Canada Place.
It wasn't immediately known when the collision occurred, and Spaven said an autopsy was needed to determine if the ship had struck the whale while it was alive or if the whale had been floating dead at sea.
"Vessel strikes are a very real threat to fin whales," Ms Spaven told the Sun.
She said cruise ships had predetermined shipping lanes but such lanes could not accommodate whale migrating paths since the paths changed year by year due to food supply.
Some photographs here -
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090725/BC_Whale_090725/20090725?hub=CanadaRegards