The rationale behind Orcas’ attacks on these ships remains a mystery to maritime specialists.
According to an ABC News story, a group of orcas, also referred to as killer whales, attacked and sank a sailing boat in the Strait of Gibraltar, which separates Spain and Morocco. The publication went on to say that there were two passengers when the incident happened. A Spanish rescue squad, alerted by the two, came to their aid. A group of orcas started pounding the 50-foot yacht, the Alboran Cognac, while it was 15 miles (24 kilometers) off Cabo Espartel in Morocco.
Authorities succeeded in saving the crew members, but not in saving the sinking boat.
Authorities in Spain have warned sailors traveling through the region to stay away from specific locations.
Dividing Europe from Africa, the Strait of Gibraltar joins the Atlantic and Mediterranean seas.
According to the conservation organization GT Orca Atlantica, since 2020, there have been over 700 killer whale assaults. It went on to say that the Strait of Gibraltar is home to more than 37 orcas.
“During the summer and autumn of 2020, interaction events began to occur between several specimens of this species and vessels, mainly sailboats, both in the Strait of Gibraltar and in the waters of the Galician coast,” according to experts from the Spanish government. “These interactions have ranged from persistent approaches to ships to ramming the hull and rudder, causing various types of damage, which continue today.”
The rationale behind Orcas’ attacks on these ships remains a mystery to maritime specialists. Some contend that the marine animals may be attacking ships out of fun or out of a sense of threat.
A pod of orcas attacked a Polish tour business’s boat for forty-five minutes in October 2023, causing “major damage and leakage,” according to a Facebook post from the firm. In the end, the boat sank.
Last year, the killer whales also disrupted a sailing race, posing a 15-minute threat to a yacht that was going from the Netherlands to Italy. In order to ward them off, the crew had to hobble around and lower the sails.
