Two dead whales were discovered when an Australian naval ship berthed at a base in San Diego, California.
It is unclear how the whales were killed, but the U.S. Navy and the Royal Australian Navy are cooperating with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to determine the cause of death.
“The Royal Australian Navy can confirm that as HMAS Sydney was berthing alongside Naval Base San Diego in California two deceased whales dislodged from her hull beneath the surface,” a statement from the Australian Department of Defense released Wednesday reads, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
“The US Navy and the Royal Australian Navy are cooperating with the NOAA Fisheries and other agencies to review the incident,” the statement continued. “The Navy takes marine mammal safety seriously and is disheartened this incident occurred.”
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Blue, fin, humpback, and gray whales are the most vulnerable to getting hit by ships because “they migrate along the coast and many use areas along the coast for feeding, where they overlap with heavy shipping traffic,” according to the NOAA Fisheries’s website.
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The NOAA has worked to change shipping lanes to protect whales that would otherwise be in harm’s way.
