Marine conservationists were among cruise ship passengers who witnessed 78 whales being slaughtered

• Conservationists were among the cruise passengers who witnessed the slaughter of 78 pilot whales.
• Ambassador Cruise Lines apologized after it docked during a whale hunt in the Faroe Islands.

Marine conservationists were among the horrified cruise ship passengers who witnessed the slaughtering of 78 whales last week.

Ambassador Cruise Line issued an apology on Twitter after its Ambition ship docked in the Faroe Islands at the same time a group carried out its regular hunting of pilot whales. The islands are a self-governing part of Denmark about halfway between Iceland and Norway.

The cruise docked in the Faroese port of Torshavn last Sunday as locals carried out their sixth hunt of the year. Nine calves no older than a month were among the 78 whales slaughtered, conservation and campaign group ORCA said.

In a press release, ORCA said some of its conservationists were on the ship with tourists when the killings took place.

ORCA said its conservationists witnessed more than 40 small boats and jet skis herd the whales into shallow waters before 150 hunters slaughtered the 78 whales with hooks and "killing lances" in 20 minutes.

The group said some of the pilot whales, including a calf, took more than 30 seconds to die.

Sally Hamilton, the CEO of ORCA, said in a statement it "defies belief" that Faroese authorities allowed the hunt to take place in the view of the cruise ship.

"It's almost as if they are flaunting the hunt and taunting the tourists," she said.

According to Visit Faroe Islands, about 800 whales are killed annually and meat is distributed among those who participate.

Islanders say the practice has been deemed sustainable due to the whale population in the area.

In a statement shared with ORCA, Ambassador said while the practice was a traditional way of sustaining communities, it had now become "outdated" and had instead turned commercial, with whale meat being sold in local supermarkets.

"We are utterly opposed to the commercial hunting of whales and dolphins in the Faroes, or anywhere else come to that," Ambassador said.

Visit Faroe Islands didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider, made outside normal working hours.