Picture shows rorqual whale hit by cargo ship bound for Portsmouth Harbour

The African Express Line Cote d’Ivoirian Star was held for seven hours off the east coast of the Isle of Wight on Monday when the whale was spotted.

The fruit ship arrived in Portsmouth Harbour on Monday evening.

Today Portsmouth-based whale and dolphin charity Orca said it was ‘deeply saddened’ by the whale strike and released an image of the rorqual whale.

‘We are deeply saddened by images of this beautiful creature in Portsmouth port,’ said Sally Hamilton Orca director.

‘Sadly, ship strike is becoming increasingly common and a global problem for the maritime sector.

‘It’s why an Orca ship strike project, in association with the University of Portsmouth, is so important.

‘Working with Brittany Ferries, researchers are looking at exactly how whales behave when a ship approaches on regular ferry voyages through the Bay of Biscay.

‘When complete, we hope that evidence gathered could lead to protocols or training for all ship crews, wherever they operate in the world.’

The rorqual whale belongs to the baleen family, which includes blue whales. They can be found around the world.

Crew on the 185m ship alerted coastguard at around 9am on Monday. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency investigated while the ship was held for seven hours.

On Tuesday the whale was due to be brought ashore to be assessed.

Ben McInnes, Portsmouth International Port’s harbour master said: ‘(Monday) morning during a routine boarding of AEL’s Cote D’Ivorian Star, a regular cargo ship carrying fruit from Africa, pilot boat crew spotted an object on the bow of the vessel.

‘On further inspection the object was sadly identified as a deceased whale.

‘Fortunately this a rare incident, but can be quite complex and involves a number of agencies to help resolve. However, there was no emergency declared on board and no distress call sent.

Agencies including the Counter Pollution Team, Receiver of Wreck, Portsmouth International Port, Queen’s Harbour Master, the ship’s owner and Environmental and Conservation Agencies were consulted.

Mr McInnes added: ‘It is unclear where the incident occurred, or whether the whale had already died.’