Dozens of incidents involving groups of killer whales and boats have been reported so far this year off the Spanish and Portuguese coasts.
Killer whales severely damaged a sailboat off the coast of southern Spain, the local maritime rescue service said, adding to the dozens of attacks by killer whales on ships recorded so far this year off the Spanish and Portuguese coasts.
The incident follows at least 20 interactions in the Strait of Gibraltar between small craft and killer whales this month alone, according to the Atlantic Orca Working Group-GTOA, which tracks populations of the Iberian killer whale subspecies.
In the early hours of Thursday morning, a pod of killer whales broke the rudder and pierced the hull after ramming into the Mustique as it sailed towards Gibraltar. service said.
The rescue service deployed a rapid response vessel and a helicopter with a bilge pump to assist the 20-metre ship, which was flying the British flag, the spokesman said.
The Mustique was towed to the port of Barbate in the Spanish province of Cadiz for repairs.
The incident follows at least 20 interactions this month in the Strait of Gibraltar alone between small craft and the highly social apex predators. In 2022, there were 207 reported interactions, GTOA data showed.
Yesterday two ships collided, one towed north of Tangier, and the other south of Barbate. But right now, a third ship is entering the area and seems to be having a hard time. Consult maps and traffic lights in the app (GT Orcas) and on the web https://t.co/GUq8icOtkX
— Orca Iberica GTOA (@Orca_Iberica) May 24, 2023
Although known as killer whales, endangered killer whales are part of the dolphin family. They can measure up to 8 meters (26 ft) and weigh up to six tons as adults.
Earlier this month, the sailing yacht Alboran Champagne was hit by three killer whales half a nautical mile (less than 1 km) from Barbate. The ship could not be towed as it was completely submerged and left adrift to sink.
A study published in 2021 on killer whale interactions with vessels in the Strait of Gibraltar said several killer whales began displaying disruptive behavior towards boats in 2020 – most were sailing vessels, but fishing boats and motorboats were also involved.
“The animals bumped, pushed and twisted the boats,” the report said, noting that 14 individual killer whales, most of them juveniles, had been identified as engaging in such behavior.
“The behavior of killer whales when interacting with boats is not considered aggressive,” the report states.
“We are not yet sure of the origin of these interactions, but it is still suspected that it could be a curious and playful behavior, which could be self-induced, or on the other hand, could be the behavior being caused by an aversive behavior.” incident and therefore as a precaution,” the report states.
Guidelines from the Spanish Ministry of Transport state that when ships detect a change in orca behavior – such as sudden changes in direction or speed – they must leave the area as quickly as possible and avoid further disturbance of the animals during the maneuvers.
Any interaction between a ship and a killer whale must be reported to authorities, the ministry added.