Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect the Army Corps of Engineers saying the dead whale is still in the Hudson River. The Coast Guard previously said the whale was removed.
JERSEY CITY -- A dead whale that surfaced in the Hudson River earlier this week just off Caven Point in Jersey City has been tied to a debris barge so it's not a hazard to ships, the Army Corps of Engineers said.
On Monday at 5:44 p.m., the Coast Guard received a report of a whale on the "bulbous bow" -- a protruding bulb at the front of a ship just below the waterline -- of a commercial vessel bound for Port Elizabeth, Coast Guard spokesman Charles Rowe said.
However, when the ship was tied up at a pier, the whale could no longer be seen on the bow, according to Rowe.
Rowe said a pilot boat discovered the carcass of a whale, believed to be the same one from Monday, floating in the same general area on Tuesday. Previous reports stated the whale surfaced Wednesday.
Bob Schoelkopf, founding director of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center, told The Jersey Journal today that the whale is a "30-foot long fin whale."
He said he believes the animal has been dead for about a week and that it likely died when it was struck by the commercial ship, though it's not clear where and when the collision happened.
Ken Wells, Chief of Public Affairs at the Army Corps of Engineers for the New York District, said the whale is too big for a drift collection vessel to remove it.
"It's been tied to a debris barge while we wait for the Marine Mammal Stranding Center to determine the next step," he said.
Jonathan Lin may be reached at jlin@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @jlin_jj. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.