Skip to content
All news
  • All news
  • About whales & dolphins
  • Corporates
  • Create healthy seas
  • End captivity
  • Green Whale
  • Prevent deaths in nets
  • Scottish Dolphin Centre
  • Stop whaling
  • Stranding
  • Whale watching
Vaquita. Photo Thomas Jefferson

Scientific Committee gives first ever official species extinction warning

Photo: Thomas Jefferson We have welcomed the urgent call by experts to protect the vaquita...
blue whale

Whale fossil from Peru may have been heavier than blue whale

Scientists examining the bones of a 39 million-year-old ancient whale have concluded that it may...
Humpback whale © Christopher Swann

Humpback whales breach in synchronisation

Humpback whales are renowned for their incredible acrobatic displays, but a family in the USA...
Long-finned pilot whale

Unusual activity witnessed before pilot whale stranding

Just days after a pod of long-finned pilot whales stranded on an island in the...

Whale watch boat sinks off Canada: five British passengers dead

A whale watching boat sank yesterday off the coast of British Columbia, western Canada, leaving at least 5 Britons dead.

The vessel, the Leviathan II, a 65-foot cruiser sank off Tofino, Vancouver Island, with 27 passengers aboard.  Twenty-one passengers have been rescued but one person is still missing.

First on the scene were members of the nearby Ahousat First Nation community, who saw flares and responded immediately, rescuing many stricken passengers.

The cause of the accident remains unclear. Coastguards have reported that sea conditions at the time were calm, however local fishermen in claim that those waters can, at times, become ‘like a washing machine’.

The Leviathan II is operated by whale watch company, Jamie’s Whaling Station and Adventure Centres.  Owner, Jamie Bray, issued a statement expressing the company’s deep sorrow at the accident. “It has been a tragic day. Our entire team is heartbroken over this incident. We are doing everything we can to assist our passengers and staff through this difficult time. We are cooperating with investigators to determine exactly what happened.”

In  March1998, a vessel owned by the same whale watch company capsized in the same area, Plover Reefs, killing the captain and a German tourist.

WDC extends sincere condolences to all those involved in, or affected by, this tragic incident.