As if anyone needed a reminder of how vulnerable whales are to ship strikes, when HMAS Sydney pulled into Naval Base San Diego over the weekend, it brought with it a grim cargo. The carcasses of two fin whales were dislodged from beneath the hull of the Royal Australian Navy destroyer. One whale was 20m long while the other was about 8m and are suspected to have been a mother and a calf.
HMAS Sydney has been in the area conducting joint exercises with the US Navy since early April.
“The Royal Australian Navy can confirm that as HMAS Sydney was berthing alongside Naval Base San Diego in California two deceased whales dislodged from her hull beneath the surface,” the statement said.
“The US Navy and the Royal Australian Navy are co-operating with the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Fisheries and other agencies to review the incident.
“The Navy takes marine mammal safety seriously and is disheartened this incident occurred.”
Two dead fin whales found dead under hull of Australian ship
Thanks to Alaric Bond for contributing to this post.
On reading this, I was immediately reminded of Robert Burns “Tae a Mouse” and its recognition of nature and its place in our lives.
I’m truly sorry man’s dominion,
Has broken Nature’s social union,
An’ justifies that ill opinion,
Which makes thee startle,
At me, thy poor, earth born companion,
An’ fellow mortal!
o sad.
Looking forward to the final report on this incident.
Just how does a whale get stuck to a ship? Also why didnt sonar notice that their readings were skewed? Or why didnt those in propulsion notice an extra drag to navigation?
Seems like an awful lot of ignorance about the vessel and its crew. Especially the part where the female whale is the size of the ship and no one hapened to look off the stern to see the whales carcass on the stern. Sailors do have free time.