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Date Published: 22/06/2023

Passenger ferry smashes into sperm whale off the coast of Tenerife

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The Fred. Olsen Express fast ferry was carrying tourists from Gran Canaria when it hit the huge whale

Passenger ferry smashes into sperm whale off the coast of Tenerife

Passengers enjoying the short scenic ferry trip between Tenerife and Gran Canaria on Monday June 19 got the fright of their lives when the Fred. Olsen Express ploughed into an enormous whale that caused the vessel to bump and shudder. They were left even more distraught when the injured mammal bobbed to the surface of the water, streaming blood.

The fast ferry left Agaete in Gran Canaria at 2pm and was only around 20 minutes from docking in Santa Cruz when one passenger describes feeling a “strong blow.”

Biologist Amanhuy Duque Hernández was on the deck of the ship at the time, trying to catch a photo of the sperm whale he had just spotted around 200 metres from the ferry.

“When I looked back, I could see a brown stain of blood in the wake of the ferry and an adult sperm whale flailing in pain on the surface of the water,” he said.

Sadly, it appears that the whale later died as a result of the collision.

In the last 20 years, more than 80 whales have been hit by boats in and around the Canary Islands and the incidents are increasing as more and more ferry routes are added.

Mr Hernández has criticised the government of the Canary Islands for failing to regulate the speed of both passenger and commercial vessels, as these days the “cetaceans do not have time to react and move away to avoid the collision.”

The Canaries has the only breeding population of sperm whales in the Northeast Atlantic so this species accounts for 54% of all collisions, but elsewhere in Spain it’s orcas, or killer whales, causing the trouble. Just last month, four sailors had to be rescued from a large boat in Cádiz when a group of orcas rammed their vessel.

Now read: Video shows dead sperm whale washed up on Spanish beach

Image: Pexels

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