SEATTLE — A Washington state ferry struck a humpback whale in Seattle's Elliott Bay on Tuesday evening.
The whale has not been located. NOAA Fisheries spokesperson Michael Milstein said the strike was likely fatal, based on information provided by passengers.
Washington State Ferries says it has procedures in place to watch for whales, but the juvenile humpback whale that was struck Tuesday night was too close for the crew to maneuver the boat out of the way.
“I don’t know if there’s anything else they could have done,” Gregory Faust, state ferries director of marine operations, said Wednesday during a news conference.
The vessel was traveling from Seattle to Bainbridge Island when a humpback whale breached five to 10 feet in front of the boat. Just three minutes into the trip, the boat was traveling at 16 knots, and Faust said it would have taken about 600 feet to come to a complete stop.
As far as keeping an eye out for whale traffic, Faust says the ferry has an alert system in place if whales are reported in the area. However, there weren’t any reports of whales in Elliott Bay on Tuesday.
If whales are reported, Faust says the ferries employ a “slow down” program. For example, boats that are heading to Sidney, British Columbia will slow down in the Haro Strait to watch for whales and reduce boat noise, which hinders Southern Resident killer whales’ ability to hunt.
“We’re really kind of leading what’s happening in the Salish Sea with when it comes to our orcas,” Faust said. “It’s no different really if there’s other whales in the area. We have the same procedures.”
Faust says Washington State Ferries doesn’t have a reported record of ever hitting a marine mammal.
As part of its investigation, state ferries will look at where the crew was during the incident, including whether there was a crewman in the cabin or on the crew deck who may have seen the incident.
Faust said the ferry’s bridge team was fully intact during the sailing, including a mate that was on the bridge with the quartermaster, who steers the boat. A lookout was also on board to watch for other marine traffic.
State ferries hasn’t reviewed any interviews with passengers yet, and it plans to speak with crew members once they report for work Tuesday afternoon.
Each ferry boat has security cameras on board, and surveillance footage captured the incident, according to Faust.
Please call the West Coast Marine Mammal Stranding Network at 1-866-767-6114 to report a dead, injured, or stranded marine mammal.