Orcas sink sailing yacht near Gibraltar

"The crew made an emergency call when water entered their boat. According to Spanish media, this is not the first time that killer whales have rammed a boat near the Iberian Peninsula.

 

According to Spanish media reports, orcas have once again sunk a sailing yacht near Gibraltar. The two crew members of the 15-meter yacht "Alborán Cognac" first heard dull thuds against the hull on Sunday morning about 26 kilometers off Cape Spartel in Morocco at the southern entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar, the Spanish newspapers "El País" and "El Mundo", the portal 20Minutos and other media reported on Monday, citing the Spanish maritime rescue service. 

 

The rudder blade was damaged. When water entered the boat, the sailors made an emergency call.

 

A helicopter was launched from Spain and the nearby tanker "MT Lascaux" was asked to assist, the The newspaper continued, citing the Ministry of Transport in Madrid. One hour after the distress call, the shipwrecked people were safely taken on board the tanker. However, the yacht could not be salvaged and sank shortly afterwards.

 

Seven encounters between orcas and boats recorded since May 2020

 

According to "El País", this is the seventh case of this kind. The first encounter between orcas and a boat was recorded in May 2020. A total of five sailing boats and two Moroccan fishing boats were affected.

 

The encounters mainly take place on the Atlantic coast of the Iberian Peninsula, but also in the neighboring areas of France and Morocco. This is the migration route of the whales, which follow the tuna schools, their main source of food.

 

Experts who study the behavior of the intelligent animals assumed that orcas had rammed the yacht, orcas, which belongs to a group of 37 marine mammals, the newspaper further reported.

 

It is not known why the orcas have repeatedly targeted the boats since 2020. Experts assume that these are not deliberate attacks, but a learned behavior that could be related to their curiosity or their instinct to play. A reaction to a negative experience with a ship is also conceivable. Instead of "attacks," researchers prefer to speak of "interactions," since the reason for this behavior of the killer whales, which is only observed in this sea area, is not known." [1]

 

1. Orcas versenken Segelyacht in der Nähe von Gibraltar. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (online) Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung GmbH. May 14, 2024.