Vessel / Whale Collisions (ship strike) * Required fields
Record a ship strike
Step 1: Introduction / Select type
Please select from the options below to determine where the incident or discovery happened. If it happened at sea you will need to specify if it was a collision or an observation and finally if it was a collision, select if the whale became stuck on the ship or not.
Step 2: My details
Please provide us with your details so that we can contact you if we require further information or verification regarding the ship strike.
Step 3: When & where
These questions are designed to establish when the incident happened and where. If you know the date and position then this is all that is required, although it is helpful for extracting data to also select a large area. If you do not have precise information on the date or location then use the descriptive categories to narrow this down as much as possible.
Step 4: Species
For some incidents it will be easy to identify which species of whale was involved. In other cases it may be just identified as a whale. Try to give as much information as possible and describe the features that were used to identify the whale. Things like the shape of the fins on the back of the whale, its flippers and tail are all key features to identify the type of whale.
Step 5: Whale details
It is useful to know whether the whale was seen before the collision and whether the animal appeared to be a single individual or one of a group. It is likely that whales involved in some behaviours are less aware of ships than at other times and so information on the whale's behaviour prior to the collision, and particularly any response by the whale to the approaching vessel, is useful.
Step 6: What happened
Even if you saw the collision please try to list everything that might have given an indication that a collision had occurred. This is important for trying to establish whether a collision occurred in other cases which were not witnessed. Knowing the circumstances under which whales received particular injuries also helps to work out what happened to whales that are stranded ashore.
Step 7: What was seen
If the whale was seen before the collision, please provide information about the time between the sighting and the collision, as well as details about the whale(s).
Step 8: Vessel activity
Information about the vessel activity is particularly important for understanding the factors leading to collisions but there is currently a lack of this type of data.
Step 9: Weather conditions
Weather conditions affect how easy it is to see whales. Water depth and sea state may also affect the way the whale perceives the sound from the
Step 10: File upload
If you have any photos to support the information you have just provided, you can upload the files to our secure server which will be linked to this entry.
Step 11: Submission
Before submitting the ship strike entry, please review your entry (click on each step to view the information you provided) to ensure that the data entered is correct.