A cruise ship towed a dead whale into New York Harbor. What went wrong?

On Wednesday, the whale was towed to Sandy Hook, New Jersey, for a necropsy. According to NOAA, officials discovered broken bones in the right fin, tissue trauma to the right shoulder blade area and a stomach full of food. Biologists collected samples for biotoxin and histopathological analysis. NOAA spokeswoman Andrea Gomez said the tissue and bone samples could help biologists determine whether the whale died before or as a result of the collision with the ship.

The Atlantic Marine Conservation Society is leading the whale survey. The results of the survey could take days to weeks, said Kathleen Collins, senior marine campaign manager at the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

Based on the findings published so far, Andy Rogan, science manager at Ocean Alliance, a nonprofit whale research and conservation organization, said the cruise ship was likely responsible for the whale’s sinking. If so, it would have been a sudden death.

“Whales are huge animals, but compared to a ship of this size the impact is still enormous. There’s so much weight and force hitting this whale,” he said. “It is almost certain that a ship strike killed this whale.”

According to NOAA, ship collisions and entanglement in fishing gear are the biggest threats to sei whales, an endangered species that lives in deeper waters off the coast. Population numbers are difficult to determine, but NOAA documented about 6,300 sei whales between Florida and Nova Scotia between 2010 and 2013.

Sei whales feed at this time of year, and Collins said the whales feed on the surface, which puts them at risk of colliding with the bow of a ship. She said crew members and passengers may not have felt the dent because of the ship’s enormous size. The MSC Meraviglia weighs 171,598 tons; Sei whales weigh up to 10 tons.

“It’s really a tragic case where this strike probably happened and everyone didn’t know about it until they got to the port,” Collins said. “They probably don’t even know exactly where they hit the whale.”

NOAA encourages boaters traveling along the East Coast to drive slowly, remain alert and report any sightings of right whales or dead, injured or entangled whales. In its statement, MSC said it is taking comprehensive measures to prevent accidents involving marine life, such as: B. training deck officers at the Ocean Research and Conservation Association and adjusting travel routes in certain whale regions.

Collins said if the MSC Meraviglia had voluntarily reduced its speed, the whale may have suffered injuries but survived. However, cruise ships and large tankers would prefer to move quickly because they have tight schedules.

The Cruise Lines International Association did not respond to a request for comment about the industry’s safety protocols.

“The risk of mortality from a ship attack drops significantly when you reduce the ship’s speed,” Collins said.

Spotters on deck would also help a cruise ship avoid a whale, she said. Such crew members are trained to specifically search for whales in key locations. Naval agencies, agencies such as the Coast Guard and the Whale Alert app share information about whale sightings and locations.

Rogan said there was no “silver bullet” for ships to avoid whales, but advances in technology could also help reduce the threat. He said hydrophones could pick up the acoustics of whales, information that NOAA could then relay to ships. Rogan said he learned at a recent workshop about infrared cameras that can detect whales in a 360-degree area, particularly in front of a ship.

Rogan called on the public on Thursday to share their outrage over the incident with government authorities and the cruise line. Collins said she hoped the incident would inspire the cruise industry to act as better stewards of the waters it shares with endangered marine life.

She noted that the MSC Meraviglia was traveling alongside Canada, a critical area for North Atlantic right whales, including their mothers and their newborn calves.