A Prince of Whales whalewatching boat hit a humpback whale on Thursday after it “suddenly and unexpectedly” surfaced in the boat’s path, the company says.

On the afternoon on Oct. 23, the Prince of Whales boat was transiting near Vancouver when the whale surfaced, and the captain took a decisive maneuver to try and avoid the whale.

“Although the vessel was able to stop almost immediately, there was minimal contact with the whale during the maneuver,” the company said in a statement to CHEK News.

“Afterward, our on-board naturalists reported witnessing that the whale surfaced to breathe, then swam away, surfacing at normal intervals. There was no noticeable damage to the whale or the vessel.”

Prince of Whales says the tour was not actively viewing the whale that was hit, “so this was a

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