RCI ship impales whale

[Krazy Kruizers]

Don't know if any of you heard about this - I just read it in the morning paper.

"A cruise ship has arrived in the Atalantic Canada port of St John, New Brunswick, witha dead whale impaled on its bow.
Royal Caribbean's liner Jewel of the Seas was cruising the Gulf of st Lawrence over this weekend, probably striking the 60-foot-long finback whale somewhere between Quebec City and the Bay of Fundy, officials said Monday.
It was not known if the whale was alive when it was struck. The coast guard towed the dea whale out to sea on Sunday.
Port workers said they were busy dealing with the whale after the ship arrived Sunday morning."

[ekerr19]

Oh, I hadn't heard... how sad. :(

[dakrewser]

You'd think someone might have noticed a 60 foot long whale in their path!

[Ziggy7]

You'd think someone might have noticed a 60 foot long whale in their path!
But how do you miss running into the whale, those ships cant turn on a dime can they ????

[dakrewser]

But how do you miss running into the whale, those ships cant turn on a dime can they ????
If it were a live whale. But I'd expect a healthy, live whale to avoid the ship. I'm surmising it was a sick or dead whale which should be quite visible from some distance.

There's a (not very good) picture with the CBC story here (http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2004/09/26/whale040926.html).

-dave

[CanSail]

Thank you for the story link Dave. There was a picture in the National Post this morning of the bow of the ship with the poor whale still attached (not pretty to see when you are reading your paper while enjoying breakfast).

[Globaliser]

You'd think someone might have noticed a 60 foot long whale in their path!Do you have any idea how visible whales are if they're just below the surface? Or should I say, "aren't"?

[Linda-E]

On our Transatlantic cruise on the Celebrity Constellation earlier this month, the ship made a sharp turn to avoid a whale. When we had a bridge tour on a few days later, the Captain told us that it is very hard for them to see the whales at night. Hitting a whale is apparently not that uncommon for ships in open waters.

[dakrewser]

On our Transatlantic cruise on the Celebrity Constellation earlier this month, the ship made a sharp turn to avoid a whale. When we had a bridge tour on a few days later, the Captain told us that it is very hard for them to see the whales at night. Hitting a whale is apparently not that uncommon for ships in open waters.
True, I hadn't considered it could be at night. I guess whales don't have much in the way of running lights :rolleyes:

-dave

[Ziggy7]

at least it wasnt as bad as this!



'Cruise from hell' terrifies passengers

Last Updated Tue, 28 Sep 2004 17:24:17 EDT



HALIFAX - Passengers from a cruise ship that docked in Halifax Tuesday told a harrowing tale of furniture flying and people breaking bones when the ship lost power near the edges of hurricane Karl. The Atlantic Ocean was rough, with swells reaching 10 to 15 metres, when all four engines aboard ms Rotterdam failed at about 6 p.m. Friday, three passengers told the CBC.

The loss of the Holland America Line ship's electrical systems and stabilizers sent the 237-metre-long vessel tilting at 35- to 40-degree angles on its North Atlantic trip from Ireland to eastern Canada.

"It was more or less the cruise from hell," said passenger Herman Veder of Boca Raton, Fla. "Furniture was flying all over the place. Pianos were not bolted down. In the gym, which is an extensive gym, all the weights came loose and started rolling around."

RELATED * More coverage from CBC Nova Scotia (http://novascotia.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=ns_cruise20040928)

In one onboard restaurant that had 1,000 plates on hand, 800 came loose and crashed to the floor, he said. "In the cabins, refrigerators came loose, TV sets were flying through the rooms."

Passengers grew more terrified as a message came over the intercom that stretcher teams were needed, Veder said. An unknown number of people suffered broken collarbones, gashes and bruises.

None of the injuries was life-threatening, the cruise line said. A Holland America spokesperson said the ship is structurally sound, and promised an investigation into what caused the engines to quit.

"Some of us were concerned that the boat was going to tip over because it was rocking and swaying so hard that things were flying across the cabins," said Rachel Youngman, a California resident making the trip with her husband Richard.

"And the captain – it took him about an hour to come on and say, 'This is very uncomfortable but the ship is in no danger.' And at that point I think we all relaxed a little bit."

Up until then, she said, many passengers had grabbed a lifejacket and were ready to abandon ship.

The 62,000-ton Rotterdam, built in 1997, can accommodate 1,316 passengers with 593 crew members on board.

[doliver]

The point has to be that the whale committed suicide. In the ocean there is no opportunity to step in front of a truck, bus or train. Beaching oneself has been the only option in the past. I'm sure that is a slow death. I'm suprised that others whales have not thought of this previously. I wouldn't be suprised to see a rash of these occuring in the future.

[woodofpine]

As whales become increasingly exposed to Ozzie Osbourne and AC/DC cruise ships we will almost certainly suffer more of these suicidal impailments.

[Roadwork]

The point has to be that the whale committed suicide. In the ocean there is no opportunity to step in front of a truck, bus or train. Beaching oneself has been the only option in the past. I'm sure that is a slow death. I'm suprised that others whales have not thought of this previously. I wouldn't be suprised to see a rash of these occuring in the future.
What makes you think the whale committed suicide? :confused:

[Globaliser]

What makes you think the whale committed suicide? :confused:Er, I think the little :D in the title of that post rather gave it away.

[gizmo]

Here is a link about the whale:

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=583&e=1&u=/nm/20040928/od_nm/whale_dc

[LandCruiser]

I had a friend in the Navy deployed on a large Aircraft Carrier. He told me of a very similar experience that the Air Craft Carrier had. They "hit" a wale and had to do a full stop (that is a big deal on a boat that dwarfs most cruise ships) and back up to get the whale off of the Stern.

[bepsf]

Poor Whale...

:(