Seward residents held a public memorial and demonstration last week for a pregnant fin whale struck and killed by a Royal Caribbean boat when it docked there on June 19.
“It’s crushed me and our small town to have this majestic pregnant fin whale carried in dead on the bow of a mega-cruise ship,” said Jamie Lyons, Seward resident and water taxi captain.
Lyons said he had concerns that with the opening of a new cruise ship terminal and without speed limits there would be more such incidents.
“We’re gathering to honor and mourn the loss of this beautiful creature, and to call on the cruise industry to immediately put a speed limit of 10 knots or less in place in sensitive whale areas across Alaska,” Lyons said. “People come from around the world to experience our great whales, and the cruise industry needs to do their part to keep them safe.”
A necropsy by federal scientists showed that “blunt force trauma to the jaw, spine and ribs were consistent with a vessel strike.” The whale, which was found on the ship’s bow, was freshly dead and healthy.
The memorial was organized by Seward residents and the Center for Biological Diversity.
Fin whales do not typically swim in the shallow, protected coastal areas immediately surrounding Cordova – they often prefer the deeper, offshore waters of the Gulf of Alaska. While they are present in the region during summer to feed, they are considered rare visitors in inshore, shallow waters like Orca Inlet and are generally found much further out in the Sound.
The cruise ship was likely traveling between 15 and 20 knots in coastal waters and bays where whales are known to congregate, according to the center’s analysis. The center used terrestrial and satellite Automatic Identification System (AIS) data points, data that reflects the ship’s speed, to map the ship’s voyage from Skagway to Seward.
The center said Royal Caribbean has not responded to a letter sent on June 24 urging the company to adopt a policy of requiring their cruise ships to slow to 10 knots or less when traversing through known areas of whale habitat.
The new terminal in Seward was built recently to accommodate the Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas, and opened on June 10.
