SEWARD, Alaska— Residents in Seward, Alaska, will hold a public memorial and procession on Friday for the pregnant fin whale hit by a mega-cruise ship in the Gulf of Alaska. Seward residents and the Center for Biological Diversity are demanding that Royal Caribbean and other cruise ship companies immediately implement a speed limit of 10 knots or less when traveling through sensitive whale areas or when whales are present across Alaska.

“It’s crushed me and our small town to have this majestic pregnant fin whale carried in dead on the bow of a mega-cruise ship,” said Jamie Lyons, Seward resident and water taxi captain. “With the opening of the new cruise ship terminal, I’m deeply concerned that without speed limits, we’re going to see more ships hitting our whales. We’re gathering to honor and mourn the loss of this beautiful creature, and to call on the cruise industry to immediately put a speed limit of 10 knots or less in place in sensitive whale areas across Alaska. People come from around the world to experience our great whales, and the cruise industry needs to do their part to keep them safe.”

What: Public memorial and procession for pregnant fin whale struck by a mega-cruise ship

When: Friday, July 3, from 7 a.m. to 8 a.m.

Where: Harbor North Parking Lot, corner of Port Ave and Z-Float Road, then proceeding along the sidewalk in a loop around town.

Background

On the morning of June 19, a Royal Caribbean cruise ship carried a dead endangered whale on its bow into port in Seward. Federal officials determined that the whale was pregnant, freshly dead and healthy, and had suffered blunt force trauma to the spine, ribs and jaw — consistent with a ship strike. The memorial will be held on the day the cruise ship that hit the whale, Royal Caribbean’s Ovation of the Seas, returns to Seward.