Whaling Cruise Horror: Ambassador Cruise Line Apologizes After Passengers Witnessed Killing Of 78 Dolphins While Docked In Faroe Islands
- The Ambassador Ambition ship was docking in the Faroe Islands on Sunday.
- Passengers could only sit and watch as the residents slaughtered 78 dolphins.
- ** WARNING: DISGUSTING CONTENT **
A British cruise operator has apologized after passengers endured the “traditional” killing of 78 dolphins by residents when a ship docked in the Faroe Islands.
The passengers aboard the Ambition could only watch in horror as the ship docked in the capital in the midst of a bloody summer manhunt.
Ambassador Cruise Line took to Twitter to share a full apology and voice their objections to the ‘outdated practice’ of whaling.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 visiting the Faroe Islands on these issues.
“We continue to educate our guests and crew not to buy or eat whale or dolphin meat and oppose profiteering with commercial whaling and dolphin hunting.”
The picture shows residents moving a whale, beached and slaughtered for food in the Faroe Islands.
The Ambassador Ambience, another cruise ship belonging to the operator. The Ambition docked in the Faroe Islands on Sunday, only for passengers to witness local whaling practices.
The cruise line formally apologized to passengers and took issue with the practice on Twitter.
On Twitter, a statement read: ‘The ambassador can confirm that Ambition’s arrival in Torshavn in the Faroe Islands today coincided with the culmination of a hunt of over 40 pilot whales in the harbor area.
“We were incredibly disappointed that this hunt occurred at a time when our ship was in port.
“We strongly oppose this outdated practice and have been working with our partner, ORCA, a charity dedicated to studying and protecting whales, dolphins and porpoises in UK and European waters, to encourage change from 2021.
“Sustainability is one of Ambassador Cruise Line’s core values, and we fully appreciate that witnessing this local event would have been harrowing for most guests on board.
“Accordingly, we would like to sincerely apologize to them for any undue inconvenience.”
Seventy-eight long-finned pilot whales, a species of dolphin, were killed near Torshavn on Sunday, Yahoo News Australia reported.
Rob Read, director of operations for the UK’s Captain Paul Watson Foundation, told the site that cruise companies should boycott the Faroe Islands entirely if they really want to put pressure on them to stop whaling practices.
Cruise companies need to take a stand in support of ocean wildlife and remove the Faroe Islands from itineraries.
“Her continued visits to the Faroe Islands inadvertently support the abhorrent practice that is Grindadráp.”
Grindadráp involves herding various whales and dolphins into shallow bays where they are stranded, killed, and dismembered.
The ‘tradition’ dates back 1,100 years, and many islanders identify the practice as part of their cultural heritage.
Island authorities now regulate the practice and require participants to train.
Spectators flock to watch the traditional practice of whaling off the coast in the Faroe Islands.
The practice is culturally significant to many locals, with records dating back to 900 AD.
Since the use of harpoons and spears is now prohibited, the whales are brought ashore and killed in front of the spectators.
A beached whale will have its dorsal fin severed, its spine severed, and its arteries ripped open, causing a large drain of blood across the beach and into the sea.
The meat and fat of the animals are then used for food, and the fat can also be processed for medicinal uses.
In recent decades, research has highlighted the health problems associated with eating whales due to contaminants in the sea.
