Cargo Ship Collides With 40-Foot Whale

Summary

Officials are not sure if collision happened at sea, or in the Puget Sound area.

Story Published: Aug 9, 2002 at 3:52 PM PST

Story Updated: Aug 30, 2006 at 11:46 PM PST

Cargo Ship Collides With 40-Foot Whale
SEATTLE - There was a very unsettling sight on the Seattle waterfront Friday, where a container ship collided with a 40-foot Minke whale, and sailed into the Port of Seattle with the dead whale still lodged into the ship's bow.

Right now authorities are not sure whether the ship ran into the whale and killed it, or the whale was already dead, and merely floated into the ship's path.

We're also trying to find out exactly where this happened.

Gray whales do come into Puget Sound, but it would be very unusual for one to come all the way into the Duwamish Waterway near the busy Port of Seattle.

Right now, officials are deciding how to remove the whale from the front of the ship, and what to do with the carcass.