A high-speed passenger ferry has collided with a humpback whale in English Bay, Vancouver, Canada, according to multiple media reports, according to an announcement by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) on October 18.
The whale involved in the collision was a passenger ferry operated by Hello Ferries, which operates a high-speed passenger ferry service between downtown Vancouver and Nanaimo. According to reports, Hello Ferries reported the accident to the DFO and is fully cooperating with the DFO investigation. The whale was spotted swimming north after colliding with the ferry on the 17th.
The ferry’s operator, the Vancouver Island Ferry Company, said its vessel, the Sphers, “likely came into contact with a whale” during a routine operation. The crew took immediate evasive action upon spotting the whale and performed an emergency stop in accordance with safety procedures.
Later, on the 21st, the Pacific Whale Watch Association posted on social media that a baby humpback whale named “Skipper” had a split dorsal fin in a photo taken on the 20th, but not on the 16th, and that the situation suggested it had been hit by a ferry.
In September, a BC Ferries vessel was suspected of colliding with a humpback whale about 130 kilometres southeast of Prince Rupert in northwestern British Columbia, after a dead whale was found in the same area the following day.