London Maritime Academy is a trade name for London Premier Group
Subscribe to our newsletter
Posted On: 1/13/2026, 8:59:08 AM
Last Update: 1/13/2026, 8:59:08 AM
At the Gloucester City Marine Terminal in South Jersey, the U.S. Coast Guard Delaware Bay made a startling discovery.
On the Delaware River, across from Philadelphia, a dead whale—identified as a fin whale—was discovered on the bow of a container ship.
Investigators from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Marine Mammal Stranding Centre are looking into the occurrence.
To determine the cause of death, the MMSC transferred the whale's carcass for a necropsy. Fin whales often inhabit deep waters and swim in broad areas far from the coast, according to NOAA Fisheries.
Whether the unnamed cargo ship struck the whale or simply collided with its corpse and inadvertently towed it to the port is still unknown.
Remarkably, this is concerning since three whale species—humpback whales, minke whales, and North Atlantic right whales—are experiencing an increase in fatalities, according to NOAA Fisheries.
Maritime Safety Courses in London cover endangered whale species biology, vessel strike legislation, ecological issues, and investigation methods for depleted fin whales to identify cause of death and prevent future instances.
The Endangered Species Act lists fin whales, and the MMPA classifies them as “depleted.”
Two whales were discovered dead in New Jersey as a result of vessel strikes prior to this occurrence.
Furthermore, numerous whale species are threatened, according to media outlets, not only by collisions with vessels but also by being entangled in fishing gear. Additionally, rising temperatures are to blame.
Although the species does not often inhabit shallow waters, a dead fin whale washed up on the coast of Delaware in March.
The incident suggested that the species may be under stress and that food was scarce.
In essence, according to NOAA, the fin whales' reproductive cycle has been disturbed by global warming, severely threatening the species.
