A pod of killer whales attacked and sank a boat in the Strait of Gibraltar, which connects Spain and Morocco, officials said.
According to Spain’s maritime authority, the event occurred on Sunday around 9 a.m. local time. There were two individuals on board the vessel.
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The nearly 50-foot boat, known as the Alboran Cognac, was 15 miles from Cabo Espartel in Morocco when an unknown number of orcas began slamming it.
The couple informed Spanish authorities, and an hour later, a rescue crew arrived to extract them from the vessel, but officials were unable to salvage the sinking boat.
There have been around 700 orca attacks since 2020, according to GT Orca Atlantica, a conservation organization, and officials believe there are more than 37 orcas in the Strait of Gibraltar.
The Strait of Gibraltar joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, separating Europe from Africa.
“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 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, and they continue today.”
It’s unclear why orcas attack boats, but scientists speculate that the sea creatures may be targeting them for sport or because they feel threatened.
The peer-reviewed journal Biological Conservation published research revealing that orcas possess “sophisticated learning abilities.”
In June 2023, racing yachts in the Strait of Gibraltar came close to a pod of orcas, according to race officials.
Crew members from a rival pair of 65-foot yachts were on the final leg of The Ocean Race, a global sailing competition, when they reported being intercepted by killer whales as they entered the Strait of Gibraltar.
Officials reported no fatalities in the incident.
