Update: The dead whale is now identified as a sei whale. One report says that it was hit by a cruise liner, possibly the Norwegian Breakaway.
Last month, a 60 ton dead fin whale arrived in New York harbor, pinned to the bow of a container ship calling on Port Elizabeth, NJ. This morning, a 25′ whale was spotted floating near the Brooklyn Army Terminal, close to the 58th Street pier. The New York Daily News has reported that the whale is a sperm whale, although the photos posted appear to be a baleen whale, such as a humpback or fin whale.
The whale was towed by the Army Corps of Engineers to Jersey City, where the Riverhead Foundation will attempt to determine how the whale died. Initial reports suggest that a large gash near the whale’s dorsal fin may have been caused by a ship’s propeller. As we noted in our previous post, a recent study indicates that up to 30% of whales found dead have shown evidence of being struck by a ship. Ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear are among the greatest threats to endangered species of whales today.
The Norwegian Breakway is one year old this week. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a particularly auspicious birthday. As the cruise ship entered New York harbor yesterday, after a seven day cruise, the captain reported some sort of problem related to the ship’s azipods, which prevented it from docking. Like most new cruise ships, the 1,068-foot Norwegian Breakway, which can carry 3,969 guests plus its crew of 1,651, does not have conventional shaft mounted propellers or rudders. Instead, it is powered by propellers mounted on streamlined pods, which can rotate, and therefore also serve as the ship’s rudders. The ship also has three bow thrusters.
It is not always easy to decipher the news being reported on the tragic sinking of the Korean ferry Sewol , which capsized in the Yellow Sea on April 16, leaving more than 300 dead or missing. There have been numerous reports that the ferry was overloaded when she sank, yet by all indications, the likely problem was that the ship had inadequate stability. The ferry sank while under the command of a relief captain. Last week the 
Last August we asked “
When the Cunard liner 
Update: 
This year, the 
Would the world’s first purpose-built oceangoing roll-on/roll-off ship make a good museum? The 
We have noted before the paradox of ocean shipping — it is simultaneously the most energy efficient means of transportation with the lowest carbon footprint while at the same time, it is a major polluter. (See our post from back in 2010 — 
For roughly fifty years, scientists have listened to an unidentified sound in the Southern Ocean, which has been described as a sort of mechanical quacking noise. It has been come to be known as the 
The death toll in the sinking of the 
Last week, 
Happy Earth Day! Then again, I have always thought that we lived on a misnamed planet. The word “earth” is a synonym for dirt while 71% of the planet is covered by water. Perhaps we should be saying Happy Ocean Day!
Are passenger ro-ro ferries inherently unsafe?
Recently the folks at 
Whale sightings in and around New York harbor are getting less and less unusual. Unfortunately, the most recent sighting was of a dead