A 303-meter-long cruise ship entered the port Port of Recent York last Saturday with a dead, endangered whale strapped to the bow of the ship. Although the cause of death has not been officially determined, preliminary findings by investigators indicate that the 44-foot whale was killed by ship strike. This is yet another incident designed to encourage sea creatures to do so attack recreational crafts.
He was returning to the MSC Meraviglia the gigantic apple after a cruise to Bermuda. One wonders how the ship’s crew could not realize they were pulling a huge whale, while Sei whales can weigh up to 50 tons, Meraviglia weighs over 171,000 tons. It’s no contest. NOAA is examining the whale carcass to determine whether the whale was dead before it hit the bow or was killed by it. The Recent York Times reports:
“The investigation continues, but preliminary results — broken bones in the whale’s right fin; tissue injury along the right shoulder blade; “A full stomach and a decent layer of fat all indicated that the animal was in good health when it was most likely struck and killed by the ship,” said Robert A. DiGiovanni, chief scientist at the Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, which is leading the investigation.
Sei whales are an endangered species and their population is estimated at up to 80,000 individuals. NOAA estimates that 300,000 sei whales were killed for their meat and oil in commercial whaling in the 19th and 20th centuries. Since whaling was completely banned in the 1980s, the most significant threat to whales has been ship strikes. MSC Cruises said USA today:
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of marine life. We have comprehensive measures in place to lend a hand avoid collisions, such as Ocean Research and Conservation Association (ORCA) training for all of our deck officers, and we adhere to regulations designed to protect whales and other marine life. This includes changing routes in some regions to avoid whales. We will continue to evaluate and update our procedures in cooperation with our partners and authorities.”
According to International Whaling Commissionas a result, immense ships striking whales often go unnoticed and unreported. The change in mortality rates caused by ship strikes is significant enough to be the difference between extinction and survival of a species.
The massacre of marine fauna and flora makes the thought of spending your vacation on a cruise ship even more hard to bear. This is on covering the cruise lines sexual assaulthaving ships burst into flames AND pumping out carbon dioxide on a scale comparable to a petite industrialized country.
