Ferry Collides with Sperm Whale Near Canary Islands: Biologist Criticizes Transport Companies

Passengers who took a ferry from Gran Canaria to Tenerife on Monday have had a harrowing experience. Shortly before reaching its destination, the ship collided with a sperm whale, which probably died after the collision. One of the passengers was a biologist who described the terrifying event and did not spare the criticism of the transport companies. According to him and other experts, reducing the speed of vessels could help prevent similar incidents.

Biologist Amanhuy Duque Hernández was aboard the Fred Olsen Express ferry from Gran Canaria to Tenerife on Monday afternoon. About 20 minutes before arriving at the port in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, the ship was rocked by a strong shock. “I was photographing various birds and cetaceans when I felt a strong blow,” he said in an interview for Canarian Television.

Immediately he fixed his eyes on the back of the ship. “I saw a bloodstain in the water behind the ferry and an adult sperm whale thrashing on the surface in pain,” he continued describing the event, adding that it was a very emotional experience for him as he has a strong bond with these animals.

The authorities have not confirmed the cetacean’s death, but according to Hernández, it most likely did not survive. At least he determined the exact location of the crash to help his colleagues search for the body for autopsy.

Ships pose a great danger to sperm whales and cetaceans in general. And the Canary Islands are, as the internet journal points out Canarian Weekly, the site with the highest number of vessel collisions with sperm whales in the world. Over the past twenty years, ships have struck about eighty cetaceans there, mostly sperm whales.

In this regard, Hernández emphasized the risk of fast sailing. “The higher the speed of the boat, the lower the sperm whales’ ability to react in time,” he explained. According to him and other experts, reducing the speed would help prevent fatal collisions.

​It is not only the fault of the transport companies, Hernández also blames the government of the Canary Islands for the current situation. “He refuses to regulate the speed of these ships,” he clarified.

At the same time, the Fred Olsen Express company, according to the newspaper The vanguard in 2019, it concluded an agreement with the University of the Canary Islands in La Laguna, in which it undertook, among other things, to install thermal cameras on its vessels that detect cetaceans in time and thus help prevent collisions with them.

In New Zealand last fall, hundreds of whales died after being washed ashore by the sea. Many of them died of grief:

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TN.cz