A cargo ship that was carrying tons of bananas arrived into the port with a dead whale stuck to its bow after it collided with it in the English Channel.

The Cote d’Ivoirian Star, the cargo ship, was traveling from Senegal to Portsmouth when they called the coastguards to report an impact.

The ship spent 7 hours anchored off the east coast of the Isle of Wight while the coastguard investigated what happened.

The ship came into port in darkness and was accompanied by 3 tugs.

Ben Mclnnes, Portsmouth International Port’s harbourmaster, released a statement about the incident.

Ben said, “On Monday morning, during a routine boarding of AEL’s Cote D’Ivorian Star, a regular cargo ship carrying fruit from Africa, pilot boat crew spotted an object on the bow of the vessel.”

The statement added, “On further inspection the object was sadly identified as a deceased whale. Fortunately this is a rare incident, but can be quite complex and involves a number of agencies to help resolve.”

Counter Pollution Team, Receiver of Wreck, Portsmouth International Port and the Queen’s Harbour Master will be working together to resolve this type of issue.

Other numerous environmental and conservation agencies are also going to take part.

It is still unclear where the collision occurred or if the whale was alive or dead when it got in contact with the cargo ship.

It is believed that the whale is a rorqual whale, which belongs to the baleen family.

Rorqual whales are capable of weighing up to 180 tons.

The remains of the whale are currently being examined in Portsmouth.

Sally Hamilton, the director of the whale and dolphin charity Orca, said incidents like these are becoming more common.

Sally said, “We are deeply saddened by images of this beautiful creature in Portsmouth port. Sadly, ship strike is becoming increasingly common and a global problem for the maritime sector.”

Sally added, “It’s why an Orca ship strike project, in association with the University of Portsmouth, is so important. Working with Brittany Ferries, researchers are looking at exactly how whales behave when a ship approaches on regular ferry voyages through the Bay of Biscay.”

She continued, “When complete, we hope that evidence gathered could lead to protocols or training for all ship crews, wherever they operate in the world.”

The remains of the whale are going to be examined to find out the reason that killed it.