Attitudes about collisions between whales and vessels
have changed drastically since this account from a newspaper in 1891. Rather than sensational, we now view such incidents as tragic, and internationally, vessel strikes are recognized as a potential threat to whale populations.
Worldwide, the main species affected by vessel collisions are fin whales, followed by humpback, northern right, gray, minke, sperm, southern right and blue whales. During the last two centuries of whaling almost all of these species were brought to the brink of extinction