Cruise ship pulls into Sitka with dead fin whale on its bow

A dead 57-foot-long fin whale was pulled from the bulbous bow of the cruise ship Norwegian Joy on Sept. 17 as the ship made its way toward the terminal for its port call in Sitka.

The whale was removed from the bow and towed by a tug boat hired by the cruise company to a beach near town. The incident delayed the arrival of the cruise ship into port.

Lauren Wild, Sitka area stranding coordinator for NOAA Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network, said she was notified of the situation at 8:20 a.m. by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration law enforcement, and five minutes later informed b...