Summer is approaching, which means orcas are coming out to play near the Strait of Gibraltar, which is bad news for sailors.
Two people were rescued on Sunday after an attack by a group of orcas caused enough damage to sink their boat, according to the Spanish maritime rescue service. It was the fifth sinking of this type in waters off the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa in recent years.
The animals approached the Alboran Cognac, a sailboat about 50 feet long, on Sunday morning, about 14 miles off Cape Spartel in Morocco, the rescue service said. Crew members on board reported that the animals hit the hull, damaged the rudder and caused a leak.
A nearby oil tanker quickly maneuvered toward the ship and evacuated the two sailors, who were flown to Gibraltar, the rescue service said. The boat was left adrift and Moroccan authorities reported that she eventually sank.
It is the first ship to sink in those waters this year after an orca-related mishap. A pod of killer whales traversing the Strait of Gibraltar and nearby waters has plagued sailors and intrigued marine biologists, who are studying the population. Since 2020, orcas have disrupted dozens of boating trips in these high-traffic waters, in some cases striking vessels with enough force to cause critical damage.
Last November, killer whales hit the rudder of a yacht for 45 minutes, causing its crew to abandon the ship, which sank near the port of Tanger Med.
The group is most likely to appear on the busy streets around the Gulf of Cadiz and the Strait of Gibraltar between April and August, the Spanish government said in a news release, and sailors have sighted some of the orcas there in recent weeks. .
Researchers don’t know why the pack targets ships, but have theorized that the behavior is a form of play for the curious top predators. The interactions have become so frequent that they are now a multinational issue, involving scientists and officials from Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Anxious sailors have gathered online to share tips on how to navigate “killer whale alley,” and biologists are tracking the killer whales’ movements and testing methods that could deter them.
In the event of encountering an orca, the government warned in its statement, boats should not stop but head towards shallower waters near the coast.
But the number of incidents may be declining: Researchers with the Atlantic Orca Working Group said Monday that the number of orca interactions with ships between January and May had dropped about 40 percent, compared with similar periods in recent years. three years.