Whaling cruise horror: Ambassador Cruise Line apologizes after passengers witnessed the slaughter of 78 dolphins while docking in the Faroe Islands
- On Sunday, the Ambassador Ambition ship docked in the Faroe Islands
- Passengers could only sit and watch as residents slaughtered 78 dolphins
- ** WARNING: TERRIBLE CONTENT **
A British cruise ship company has apologized after passengers endured the ‘traditional’ killing of 78 dolphins by residents when a ship docked in the Faroe Islands.
Passengers aboard the Ambition could only watch in horror as the ship docked in the capital in the middle of a bloody summer hunt.
Ambassador Cruise Line took to Twitter to share a full apology and voice their objections to the ‘obsolete practice’ of whaling.
Christian Verhounig, Ambassador CEO, said: ‘We are extremely disappointed that this has happened after weeks of trying to open a constructive dialogue with the Faroese government and Visit Faroes on these issues.
“We continue to educate our guests and crew not to purchase or eat whale or dolphin meat and oppose the profit-seeking practice of commercial whaling and dolphin hunting.”
Image shows residents transporting a whale stranded and slaughtered for food in the Faroe Islands
The Ambassador Ambience, another of the operator’s cruise ships. The Ambition docked in the Faroe Islands on Sunday just for passengers to witness the local whaling
The cruise line issued a formal apology to passengers and took to Twitter to object to the practice
A statement on Twitter read: ‘Ambassador can confirm that Ambition’s arrival in Torshavn in the Faroe Islands today coincided with the culmination of a hunt for more than 40 pilot whales in the port area.
“We were incredibly disappointed that this hunt took place while our ship was in port.
“We strongly object to this outdated practice and have been working since 2021 with our partner, ORCA, a charity dedicated to studying and protecting whales, dolphins and porpoises in UK and European waters, to encourage change.
“Sustainability is one of Ambassador Cruise Line’s core values and we fully understand that witnessing this local event would have been distressing for most guests on board.
“Accordingly, we would like to offer our sincerest apologies to them for any upset.”
Seventy-eight long-finned pilot whales, a species of dolphin, were killed near Torshavn, Yahoo News Australia, on Sunday reported.
Rob Read, COO at Captain Paul Watson Foundation UK, said the cruise lines should boycott the Faroes completely if they really want to put pressure on them to stop whaling.
Cruise lines must take a stand in support of ocean wildlife and remove the Faroe Islands from itineraries.
“Their continued visits to the Faroe Islands inadvertently support the repugnant practice that is the Grindadráp.”
At Grindadráp, several whales and dolphins are driven into shallow bays, where they are stranded, killed and slaughtered.
The ‘tradition’ goes back 1100 years and many islanders consider the practice part of their cultural heritage.
The islands’ authorities are now regulating the practice and requiring participants to train.
Spectators come to watch traditional coastal whaling in the Faroe Islands
The practice is said to be culturally important to many local residents, with records dating back to 900CE
Since the use of harpoons and spears is now banned, whales are landed and killed in front of onlookers.
A beached whale has its dorsal fin severed, its spine severed, and its arteries opened, causing an enormous amount of blood to spill onto the beach and out to sea.
The meat and blubber of the animals are then used as food and the blubber can also be processed for medicinal use.
In recent decades, research has revealed health problems associated with eating whales due to pollutants in the sea.