Why doesn't the theory of evolution work here? "The whales who get out of the way of ships will evolve forward"

Evolution is really really really slow. Ships are not.

Whales are also intelligent enough to learn that ships might be harmful, but it will still take time. ~70 years is nothing on an evolutionary scale

Whales are intelligent and social. The problem is the oldest whales are getting to be too young to remember whaling, so they're no longer scared of ships, as a society.

Sightseeing expeditions encouraging whales to approach boats doesn't help either.

I'm sure it does. Whales evolve slowly though, since they can live for centuries.

Then again they're fairly smart, so they might figure out strategies.

I expect we'll also make ships easier for them to spot.