Alaska News

NOAA: Alaska ferry likely killed humpback whale near Kodiak

A medical examination has concluded that the female humpback whale found dead off the shores of Kodiak in July was killed by a ship strike, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The Kennicott, a state ferry, most likely killed the 33-foot-long whale, said Julie Speegle, a NOAA spokeswoman.

"But we can't rule out the possibility that it was a different vessel," she said. "So since there was no evidence of a violation, there will be no charges."

On July 26, the Kennicott crew reported that a humpback whale dislodged from the ferry's bow and sank as the vessel prepared to dock in St. Paul Harbor, Speegle said.

Two days later, Kate Wynne, a marine mammal specialist with the University of Alaska Sea Grant Program, spotted a humpback whale floating in the harbor. She had it secured for a necropsy, which would later determine that the whale was hit by a ship and died from fractured ribs and a fractured skull, Speegle said.

Speegle and Jeremy Woodrow, a spokesman for the Alaska Department of Transportation, both said it's rare for a large vessel to collide with a whale. Speegle estimated it happens every two to three years.

"It's an anomaly," Woodrow said.

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In 2010, a juvenile humpback whale was found stuck on the bow of a Princess cruise ship near Juneau.

Woodrow said the ferry was not damaged in the July incident. No crew members or passengers were injured.

Tegan Hanlon

Tegan Hanlon was a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News between 2013 and 2019. She now reports for Alaska Public Media.

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