Ambassador Cruise Line has apologised to passengers on a recent cruise on the ship Ambition after the ship was docked in the Faroe Islands during a traditional whale hunting event.
The ship was docked in Torshavn on Sunday, 9th July when the whale hunt took place. The cruise line was not aware of the hunt beforehand – they aren’t scheduled, but instead happen when a sufficient number of whales are close to the shore.
During the hunt, 78 long-finned pilot whales were killed, all close to the shore and witnessable by the passengers on the ship. The event was enough to turn the ocean waters red around the harbour.
The cruise line issued an apology to guests the day after the hunt, reiterating its own stance on whale hunting and conservation in general.
We were incredibly disappointed that this hunt occurred at the time that our ship was in port. We strongly object to this outdated practice. Sustainability is one of Ambassador Cruise Line’s core values, and we fully appreciate that witnessing this local event would have been distressing for the majority of guests onboard. Accordingly, we would like to sincerely apologise to them for any undue upset.
Ambassador Cruise Line Spokesperson
The cruise line is partnered with ORCA, a charity that is dedicated to the protection of whales, dolphins and porpoises in European waters. The partnership includes the first-ever anti-whaling campaign from a cruise line, with Ambassador calling on the Faroese government to ban the practice altogether.
As it stands, the cruise line still has port visits scheduled for Torshavn in future.
Other cruise lines that visit the Faroe Islands include Azamara Cruises, Oceania Cruises, Norwegian Cruise Line, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Silversea, and Viking Cruises.
Protestors have called on cruise lines to stop visiting the Faroe Islands until the whaling events are stopped.
However, some locals have remarked that whale hunting is part of their culture and is no different to cows and pigs being slaughtered to feed guests on the ship.
It’s a divisive topic, for sure!
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A major difference is that whales are highly intelligent, some say, as intelligent as people or more so. Hunting whales is like hunting people and just as civilized. A few hundred years ago some murderers were hung, drawn and quartered as part of culture. Should we bring that back for whale hunters as part of our culture?
The difference between us eating cows and sheep is that they are culled in a humane way. Not suffering a long painful death like the poor whales.
All cruise lines should stop docking at these ports in protest. I will avoid those ports and the cruise lines that go there should I take a cruise holiday.
A small protest but,if many people did the same then,something might be done to stop this horrific act.