ARE WHALES REALLY A THREAT TO CRUISERS?

A common fear amongst cruisers, especially those sailing offshore, is hitting a whale.

According to figures from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) Ship Strike Database, there were 605 confirmed, known as definite, collisions between a whale and a vessel between 1820-2019, although the IWC concedes that many incidents aren’t reported. Most IWC reports occurred after 1990, with the highest number of strikes recorded in the Mediterranean and Atlantic Ocean. Of the 402 cases which included vessel data, 49 involved sailing yachts, second behind ferries which were involved in 52 cases.

Fin whales are the most likely species to be involved in a strike, followed by