Cruise ship impales finback whale

updated 1:03 p.m. ET Sept. 29, 2004

TORONTO - A cruise ship has arrived in the Atlantic Canada port of Saint John, New Brunswick with a dead whale impaled on its bow.

Royal Caribbean’s liner Jewel of the Seas was cruising the Gulf of St. Lawrence over the 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 dead whale out to sea on Sunday.

Port workers said they were busy dealing with the whale after the ship arrived Sunday morning.

Ship passenger Dennis Buck of New York said that passengers were unaware of the whale until they saw it on arrival.

Laurie Murison, of the Grand Manan Whale and Seabird Research Station located on an island in the Bay of Fundy, said finbacks often fall victim to ship collisions because of their length, 115 feet and longer.

“They’re very long, sleek whales and they actually get held in place and get balanced on either side of the bow,” Murison said.

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