Image (Left): Norwegian Cruise Line Image (Right): NOAA Fisheries, Permit #24359
New details have emerged about the fin whale found dead on the bow of Norwegian Joy when the cruise ship arrived in Sitka, Alaska earlier this week.
NOAA Fisheries has confirmed the animal was a 57.5-foot adult male fin whale and says its Office of Law Enforcement is now investigating the incident.
But one important question remains unanswered.
How did the whale die?
Despite the whale being discovered on the ship's bulbous bow, authorities have not yet determined its cause of death. NOAA is now assessing whether a necropsy can be carried out, which could provide considerably more information about what happened.
What happened after the whale was removed from Norwegian Joy?
Norwegian Joy arrived in Sitka on Thursday, 17 September with the whale resting across the ship's bulbous bow.
The discovery delayed the ship's arrival by around three hours while authorities responded and the whale was removed.
NOAA has now provided more detail about what happened afterwards.
A local company attempted to tow the whale towards a nearby beach where responders could access the carcass.
However, because the animal was freshly dead, it wasn't buoyant enough to be successfully brought onto the beach.
Instead, the whale sank in shallow water approximately 40 feet offshore and was secured near the beach.
That has made the next stage of the investigation somewhat more complicated.
Image: NOAA Fisheries, Permit #24359
NOAA is considering a necropsy
NOAA Fisheries is working with members of the Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network to determine whether it will be possible to perform a necropsy.
Essentially an animal autopsy, a necropsy can help scientists determine how an animal died by examining the carcass for injuries, disease and other evidence.
For an animal the size of a fin whale, however, the process isn't particularly simple.
NOAA explains that large-whale necropsies can require substantial resources, including heavy machinery to move and position a carcass so it can be safely examined. Weather, location and the condition of the carcass can also affect whether a useful examination is possible.
NOAA says the next steps in Sitka will therefore depend partly on weather conditions.
The cause of death hasn't been determined
This is an important distinction.
Finding the whale on Norwegian Joy's bow doesn't, by itself, establish exactly when or how the animal died.
A necropsy may reveal injuries consistent with a vessel strike or potentially identify another cause of death.
NOAA says necropsies can reveal internal trauma that isn't necessarily apparent from an external examination. Evidence such as haemorrhaging beneath the skin can help investigators determine whether an animal suffered a significant blunt-force impact.
Until that investigation is completed, describing the Norwegian Joy incident as a confirmed fatal whale strike would be premature.
Norwegian Cruise Line has said it is cooperating with authorities and relevant scientific and wildlife experts as the incident is assessed.
Image: NOAA Fisheries Permit #24359
It's the second fin whale found on a cruise ship bow in Alaska this year
The incident has attracted additional attention because it isn't the first of its kind during the 2026 Alaska cruise season.
In June, a 61-foot pregnant female fin whale was found dead on the bulbous bow of Royal Caribbean's Ovation of the Seas when the ship arrived in Seward.
That whale underwent a necropsy involving NOAA Fisheries and the Alaska SeaLife Center.
The two incidents don't necessarily have the same circumstances or cause.
But having two endangered fin whales found on cruise ship bows during a single Alaska season is likely to renew discussion about the interaction between large vessels and whales in some of Alaska's busiest waterways.
Fin whales are endangered in the United States
Fin whales are enormous animals, second in size only to blue whales.
They're protected under the US Endangered Species Act, and NOAA has reminded people in the Sitka area not to approach the carcass or remove tissue, baleen or other parts of the whale.
The agency has also asked anyone with information about the incident to contact its Office of Law Enforcement.
NOAA Fisheries says determining exactly how often vessels strike whales can be difficult because some collisions may never be detected, particularly when they occur offshore or the animal subsequently sinks.
What happens next?
For now, the whale remains secured near shore while NOAA and its Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network partners assess the conditions.
If a necropsy can be performed, it may provide the clearest evidence yet about what happened before Norwegian Joy arrived in Sitka.
Until then, there are still more questions than answers.
We know the whale was a 57.5-foot adult male.
We know it was freshly dead when responders attempted to bring it ashore.
And we know it was found resting on the bulbous bow of Norwegian Joy.
What investigators don't yet know is the most important part: how it died.
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