Nia's helicopter arrived above the fleet while they were holding a brief funeral for the two whales.
After death, whale bodies don't immediately sink because their fat content is quite high. Many whales have an overall density that's lower than seawater. When whales die, bacteria inside their bodies decompose them, and the gases produced by the bacteria's metabolism accumulate inside the bodies. This further decreases the density of the whales.
Whales will float on the surface of the sea for a long time.
The funeral that the fleet was holding for the whales essentially involved tying sturdy foam products to the whale corpses to ensure they wouldn't sink too soon.
That way, the whale bodies carrying the Reverse Transcriptase Virus won't immediately fall to the ocean floor.
Although it might not be helpful, this at least ensures that the marine ecosystem on the seabed will exist a little longer.
When Nia's helicopter descended, Yawgmoth was watching the whale bodies drift away.
