July 30, 2010
Friday

(SitNews) - Wednesday morning at about 8 a.m., Princess Cruises' Sapphire Princess discovered a whale on top of the ship's bulbous bow, the part of the bow that goes through the water. The Sapphire Princess, enroute from Ketchikan to Juneau, was south of Juneau near Tracy Arm at the time the whale was discovered.

The Sapphire Princess notified the U.S. Coast Guard, who contacted NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service in Juneau. Both the Coast Guard and NOAA's enforcement and protected resources divisions responded to the incident.

"Coast Guard Station Juneau is working with NOAA, shipping agents, and Princess Cruises management to help mitigate any biological or navigational hazard in the port and providing a response asset on scene during the removal process," said Cmdr. Matt Jones on Wednesday. Jones is Acting Sector Commander.

The Sapphire Princess was held in an area south of Juneau while a tugboat and divers worked to dislodge the whale carcass. That operation was completed and the ship was cleared to proceed to port shortly after 3 p.m. Wednesday.

The tugboat transported the carcass to a location suitable for a necropsy. A team of marine mammal specialists from NOAA will perform a necropsy on the whale to determine the cause of death. NOAA officials say from photos, the whale appears to be a juvenile humpback.

NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement is interviewing crewmembers of the Sapphire Princess regarding the circumstances surrounding the incident.

Source of News & Photograph:

NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service - Alaska Region
www.noaa.gov

 

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