— from Washington State Ferries —
On Tuesday night, the Wenatchee struck a humpback whale around 8:20 p.m., a few minutes after leaving Seattle on its way to Bainbridge Island. The whale breached several feet in front of the ferry, too late to turn the 460-foot vessel. We are all deeply saddened by this incident – the first reported time a vessel in the Washington State Ferries fleet has ever hit a marine mammal.
I can assure you that the health and safety of Puget Sound’s whales are extremely important to us. We have procedures in place to watch for marine mammals and work with the Orca Network to report whale sightings and stranded marine mammals.
To all our customers, and anyone on the water, please be on the lookout for the increasing numbers of humpback and gray whales in our waters, and if you spot a dead or injured whale, call the NOAA Fisheries hotline at 866-767-6114.
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