Schwerin, Germany, April 28, (dpa/GNA) – A tugboat has taken control of a barge carrying a stranded humpback whale from the Baltic Sea coast, and is set to transport it toward the North Sea, according to reports late Tuesday.
Media footage and live streams showed the water-filled barge, which is to transport the whale to the North Sea, being guided out of Kirchsee on the island of Poel into Wismar Bay by smaller boats. There, the tugboat “Robin Hood” hooked it up.
The marine mammal nicknamed Timmy in the German media, which has been stranded off Poel since March 31, had previously been towed to the barge through a specially dredged channel.
According to organizers of the private rescue operation, the motorless barge will now be towed by the tugboat toward the North Sea, accompanied by another vessel. The journey is expected to take several days.
The barge, a floating water tank typically used for transporting ships, had been positioned earlier on Tuesday after volunteers gradually coaxed the whale into place using straps, as shown in livestreams of the operation.
“I’m truly relieved,” regional Environment Minister Till Backhaus said at the port of Kirchdorf. “I was even on the verge of jumping into the water to help him over the last few metres.”
After the rescue, volunteers from the private rescue initiative embraced each other in the harbour. For some, tears of relief rolled down their cheeks after weeks of tension.
When they arrived at the port of Kirchdorf, they were greeted by those present with cheers and applause. “We never gave up hope,” said a bystander at the scene.
However, the journey in the floating basin toward the North Sea still lies ahead. It is scheduled to begin in the evening, when the sea calms down, according to Backhaus.
Journey far from over
The whale is far from being saved. Experts from the Maritime Museum had explicitly warned against transporting the animal. “The whale’s overall condition has continued to deteriorate,” and the chances of a successful live recovery are very low.
It “also carries enormous risks of injury to the whale,” the researchers explained, citing similar assessments by organizations such as the International Whaling Commission and British Divers Marine Life Rescue.
The whale and dolphin conservation organization WDC stated: “In the wild, whales are not accustomed to situations where they are confined. Generally speaking, it is most likely that the unfamiliar situation would cause a whale additional stress, and possibly even fear and panic.” This is particularly true since the whale cannot act on its natural flight instinct.
It is also possible that the animal could fall into capture myopathy, “that is, a kind of shock-induced paralysis in which the muscles cramp up.” It might also already be too weakened to show strong reactions. “It could then appear as if it were voluntarily participating in the operation or simply enduring it,” the organization said.
Weeks-long drama
The humpback whale ran aground in shallow water in the Baltic Sea five times. The marine mammal, said by Backhaus to be around 4 to 6 years old, was first seen in the Baltic Sea in early March.
On March 3, it appeared in the harbour of Wismar. Later, it was stranded further west off Timmendorfer Strand in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein.
In the more than 50 days since then, it has spent well over half the time in shallow-water zones. Experts suspect it may have repeatedly sought them out deliberately because, being seriously ill, it was looking for a place to rest.
GNA