Ocean conservationists from UK charity ORCA on board Fred Olsen Cruise Lines’ ship Borealis off the coast of Canada have had two encounters with one of the most endangered whale species on earth – the North Atlantic right whale.

While sailing at reduced speed in the Gulf of St Lawrence on the recent ‘Canada in the Fall’ cruise, the ORCA team spotted three of the whales in two separate encounters.

One of the animals was subsequently identified by experts at Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans as a 39-year-old male whale known as Manta.

James Moss, Cruise Product Manager at Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, said:

“Our guests were fortunate to have enjoyed two rare encounters with North Atlantic right whales with the ORCA team on board Borealis while sailing through the Gulf of St Lawrence, Canada.

“We know that our guests are nature lovers, so spotting native wildlife while on board our smaller-sized ships is something that they truly cherish, especially when rare sightings like these are made.

“We’re so proud of our working relationship with ORCA to learn more about the wildlife sighted from our ships, while playing a part in capturing key data for ORCA’s Cruise Conservationist programme.”

The partnership between Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines and ORCA has seen volunteers from the charity join a variety of sailings to locate marine wildlife, while providing guests with a unique experience.

The first North Atlantic right whale was spotted around 270m away from the ship and with help from the ORCA experts, guests were able to see the back and V-shaped blow, before the animal fluked, showing its dark tail fin. The second sighting happened an hour later when two whales were spotted on the horizon.

Sally Hamilton, CEO of ORCA, said:

“The two sightings mean that ORCA have now encountered North Atlantic right whales four times, with the last being a sighting of North Atlantic right whale #4191 almost exactly a year ago in the Bay of Fundy.

“The surveys we undertake from our cruise ship partnerships create the possibility of more sightings and data collection about these magnificent and highly endangered animals.”

Less than 370 North Atlantic right whales remain with the species under threat by entanglement in fishing gear and vessel strikes.

Huge efforts have been undertaken by US and Canadian marine authorities to better protect the species. A network of voluntary, mandatory and dynamic speed restricted zones and vessel traffic management measures are put in place in the Gulf of St Lawrence every year between April to November, when the whales are visiting to feed.

Borealis was sailing in the North Static Zone, where larger vessels are required to travel at a maximum speed of 10 knots, and at the time of the sighting, the Captain was travelling below this speed.