Maritime experts have not yet understood the reason why orcas attack these ships.
According to an ABC News report, a group of orcas, also referred to as killer whales, attacked and sank a sailing yacht in the Strait of Gibraltar, which separates Spain and Morocco. The outlet 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 number of orcas started pounding the 50-foot yacht, the Alboran Cognac, when 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,” said officials 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.”
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A pod of orcas attacked a Polish tour business’s yacht for forty-five minutes in October 2023, causing “major damage and leakage,” according to a Facebook post from the company. 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 sailing from the Netherlands to Italy. In order to ward them off, the crew was had to hobble around and lower the sails.