Authorities are conducting an investigation after a dead whale was found caught on the bow of an MSC Cruises ship.
The whale was discovered as the MSC Meraviglia ship approached the port in Brooklyn, New York, on Saturday. “We immediately notified the relevant authorities, who are now conducting an examination of the whale,” a spokesperson for the line told USA TODAY in an emailed statement.
The roughly 44-foot-long sei whale was towed to shore at Sandy Hook, New Jersey, for a necropsy, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries spokesperson Andrea Gomez. The examination, done on Tuesday, found broken bones in its right flipper and “evidence of tissue trauma along the right shoulder blade region.” The gastrointestinal tract was full of food, as well.
Atlantic Marine Conservation Society, the lead on the case, said in a Facebook post that the whale was a mature female.
“Most of the other organs were sampled including for biotoxin analysis and other life history studies,” Gomez said in an emailed statement. “Samples were collected and will be sent for histopathologic analysis. The tissue and bone samples collected will help biologists determine if the vessel interaction occurred pre or post mortem.”
NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement is investigating the incident. Gomez noted that sei whales are endangered and usually seen a great distance from the coast in deeper waters.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of any marine life,” the MSC spokesperson added. “We have comprehensive measures in place to help avoid collisions, such as training all our deck officers with the Ocean Research & Conservation Association (ORCA) and we follow regulations designed to protect whales and other marine life. This includes altering itineraries in certain regions to avoid whales and we will continue to evaluate and update our procedures with our partners and the authorities.”
Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Authorities investigating after dead whale found on cruise ship bow