Shocking images of dead whale wrapped around ship’s bow

A conservation charity has released ‘shocking’ images of a dead whale wrapped around a container ship’s bow.

The Africa Express Lines Cote d’Ivoirian Star was held for seven hours off the east coast of the Isle of Wight when the whale was spotted, late December.

The fruit ship, from Senegal, was destined for Portsmouth Harbour.

Portsmouth-based whale and dolphin charity, Orca, said it was ‘deeply saddened’ by the whale strike and released an image of the whale, according to the Portsmouth News.

“We are deeply saddened by images of this beautiful creature in Portsmouth port,” says Sally Hamilton, Orca director.

“Sadly, ship strike is becoming increasingly common and a global problem for the maritime sector.

“It’s why an Orca ship strike project, in association with the University of Portsmouth, is so important.

“Working with Brittany Ferries, researchers are looking at exactly how whales behave when a ship approaches on regular ferry voyages through the Bay of Biscay.

“When complete, we hope that evidence gathered could lead to protocols or training for all ship crews, wherever they operate in the world.”

Crew on the 185m ship alerted the coastguard. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency investigated while the ship was held.

Agencies, including the Counter Pollution Team, Receiver of Wreck, Portsmouth International Port, Queen’s Harbour Master, the ship’s owner and Environmental and Conservation Agencies, were consulted.

Cote d’Ivoirian Star

Read the full article in the Portsmouth News.

According to Orca, an investigation has identified the deceased whale as a juvenile fin whale.

The Cetacean Strandings Investigation Programme (CSIP) conducted a field examination which found the animal was a 17.1m long juvenile fin whale which was described as being in ‘good nutritional condition’. The animal appears to have been struck whilst still alive, and the CSIP concluded that ship strike is the most likely cause of death.

Sally Hamilton says: “Though on this occasion the ship did exactly the right thing and made the relevant authorities aware of the animal, unfortunately too often these incidents go unreported. Ship strike is a growing threat and fin whales are one of the species at highest risk from this issue.

The report comes on the same day as news of another dead whale on the UK coastline, with a sperm whale dying after stranding near to the shore off the Moray Firth. The animal, thought to be a 20m long male, was seen in distress, and teams from British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR) and the Scottish Marine Animal Strandings Scheme (SMASS) attended the scene.

However, given the size and species of the animal in question there was little that could be done, and the animal died. Reports suggest the animal was thin and in poor condition, with a necropsy due to take place to establish the specific cause of this incident.