The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) is currently investigating after a Holland America Line cruise ship "may have made contact" with a pod of humpback whales off Alaska's coast.
The liner, ms Eurodam, has been filmed sailing alongside the whales Monday morning, June 24, according to footage shared to social media.
In the video, ms Eurodam sails by as multiple humpbacks appear to spew air and water from the blowholes.
The Marine Mammal Viewing Guidelines and Regulations of NOAA stipulate that vessels not approach humpback whales within 100 meters as well as maintain a “slow, safe speed” so as to not “disrupt the behaviour” of the marine life. In case approached by a whale, vessels are required to “put the engine in neutral and allow the whale to pass.”
It is unclear how fast ms Eurodam was sailing or how close it had approached the whales. According to Holland America, the captain had changed the course of the cruise ship by 10 degrees so as to follow “proper protocols” allowing the whales to pass.
For other ms Eurodam accidents and incidents see at the ship's CruiseMinus page.