NOAA says dead fin whale brought to Seward showed trauma consistent with vessel strike

NOAA Fisheries says preliminary necropsy findings on a dead fin whale brought into Seward on a cruise ship's bow showed injuries consistent with a vessel strike.

The ship arrived at the dock in Seward on Friday, June 19, with a dead 61-foot adult female fin whale on top of its bulbous bow. A local company towed the whale to a nearby beach for a necropsy.

It is unclear which ship was responsible for the hit that killed the whale.

NOAA Fisheries worked with the Alaska SeaLife Center and Alaska Veterinary Pathology Services over the weekend to examine the whale and determine a cause of death.

The whale was pregnant, freshly dead and in good nutritional condition, with plenty of blubber and muscle, according to NOAA's statement.

Preliminary findings showed blunt-force trauma to the whale's jaw, spine and ribs consistent with a vessel strike, NOAA said. The official cause of death remains pending while histological and diagnostic testing is completed on collected samples. That testing can take months, the agency said.

A law-enforcement investigation is ongoing.

Plans are underway to tow the carcass out to sea as soon as possible. NOAA said it is expected to sink and nourish deep-sea marine life.

Fin whales are large baleen whales found in Alaska waters. Vessel strikes are a recognized risk for large whales, particularly where shipping lanes, cruise traffic and whale habitat overlap.