The whale that has stranded several times in the Baltic Sea has been successfully towed by the rescue ship. “The worst is behind us”

The whale towing vessel that ran aground on the coast of Germany several times in recent weeks has arrived in Danish waters and should reach the North Sea in two days, according to German authorities, quoted by AFP.

According to the VesselFinder website, the Fortuna B, which is towing the barge carrying the whale on Tuesday night, arrived midday Wednesday between the islands of Langeland and Lolland in southeastern Denmark.

On Tuesday evening, the ship sailed out of Wismar Bay on the Baltic Sea coast with this humpback whale, believed to be in agony by some experts, while others say it is healthy.

Its rescue has become a hotly-watched news story in Germany since late March, when it first failed.

The animal is transported on a partially submerged barge to the deeper waters of the North Sea, closer to its natural habitat.

“If everything goes well, it will be in the North Sea in two days. The worst is already behind,” said Tillbackhaus, the Environment Minister of the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The mammal is fine and has been making sounds during the night, the minister added

Doubts remain, however, about the whale's health after it failed several times on Germany's Baltic coast. Several experts claim that he will die anyway and consider the rescue operation, organized by two entrepreneurs and tolerated by the authorities, useless.

They abandoned rescue attempts in early April, then reversed the decision following public pressure and media christening the mammal 'Timmy' or 'Hope'.

The whale became a national media phenomenon in Germany, and its epic in the waters of the Baltic Sea crystallized emotions, controversies and disputes. Those involved in the current rescue operation say they have received death threats.