US / Alaska Cruise Ship Impales Whale Humpback whale's death being investigated By Rob Quinn, Newser Staff Posted Jul 29, 2010 3:17 AM CDT Copied Federal authorities are investigating the cause of death. (National Marine Fisheries Service) The Sapphire Princess has found a dead whale stuck to its bow for the second time in just over a year. The Coast Guard says the whale appears to be a juvenile humpback, the Anchorage Daily News reports. The cruise ship was delayed near Juneau for three hours while the carcass was removed. A necropsy will be conducted to see whether the animal was already dead when it was struck by the ship, which returned to port with a dead fin whale on its bow after a whale-watching trip last summer. (More Alaska stories.) Report an error