Federal fisheries officials believe a dead whale spotted in Burrard Inlet in Vancouver was likely dragged there on the bow of a cruise ship.

A DFO investigation was launched after the massive carcass was spotted alongside a pier at Port Metro Vancouver.

The agency confirms the carcass is a Fin whale, a species of baleen given the nickname “razorback” because of the ridge behind the dorsal fin.

“They do tend to be the most commonly found whales on the bows of ships. With this particular one we won’t know until after the post-mortem if it was already dead when it was struck by the ship or whether it was alive,” said John Ford of the DFO.

The whale has been towed to Seaspan on the North Shore for a necropsy. Results could take weeks.

Second in size only to the massive blue whale, Fin whales are frequently injured or killed by collisions with fast-moving ocean ships.

An adult Fin whale can grow to 27-metres long and weigh up to 73 tonnes.