A beached whale art installation by the Belgian collective 'Captain Boomer' lies on the shore of the river Thames at Greenwich on June 20, 2013 in Greenwich, England. (Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

When a bottlenose whale swam up the Thames River and became beached on the shore in 2006, thousands of people came to watch in awe and horror as scientists struggled and failed to returned the animal to its natural habitat. Spectators may have felt similar emotions upon seeing another whale beached on the shores of Greenwich this weekend -- but the 55-foot sperm whale wasn't in need of rescuing, because it's a fiberglass sculpture.

Created by the Captain Boomer Collective, a group of Belgian artists, the model was first placed at Cutty Sark and then crane-lifted to the nearby Royal Naval College, according to London24.

The whale will stay on the lawns of the Royal Naval College until June 29 as part of the Greenwich and Docklands International Festivaland commemorates the death of the bottlenose whale in 2006, reported the BBC.

According to the Captain Boomer Collective, "The beaching of a whale has always been a magical event. Villages trembled and were exhilarated when it happened. This is what we reconstruct."

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The fiberglass whale is also an homage to Greenwich's role as the center of the London whaling industry, the organizers said in an interview with Metro. Centuries ago, street lamps were lit using whale oil, and Greenwich was the base for a fleet of whaling vessels.

The British Divers Marine Association, which rescues animals in the Thames, is assisting in the event. One member of the association, Alan Knight, said it's possible a whale could become stranded on the Thames River again in an interview with the BBC.

"Over the last few years we have been seeing more and more whales and dolphins around the coast of the British Isles," Knight told the BBC. "If this was happening for real we would do all in our power to avoid a whale of this type and size stranding by using a flotilla of boat to gently coax the whale out of the river."

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