Summer is approaching, which means killer whales are hanging out near the Strait of Gibraltar, which is bad news for sailors.
Two people were rescued on Sunday after their boat was attacked by a pod of killer whales, causing damage to the point that it sank, Spanish rescue services said. This is the fifth shipwreck in recent years in the waters off the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa.
Rescuers said the animal approached the 50-foot sailing ship Alboran Cognac about 22 miles off Cape Spartel in Morocco on Sunday morning. Crew members reported that the animal had struck the hull, damaging the rudder and causing water leaks.
Rescuers said a nearby oil tanker quickly maneuvered toward the boat and evacuated the two sailors, who were taken to Gibraltar. The boat was left adrift and eventually sank, Moroccan authorities reported.
This is the first ship to sink in this area this year after an incident involving killer whales. The pods of killer whales that roam the Strait of Gibraltar and nearby waters are a concern to sailors and intrigue to marine biologists who study their populations. Since 2020, killer whales have disrupted dozens of passages in busy waters, sometimes striking ships violently enough to cause significant damage.
Last November, an orca slammed the helm of a yacht for 45 minutes, causing the crew to abandon the ship and sinking near the Mediterranean port of Tangier.
The Spanish government said in a news release that pods of killer whales are likely to appear in busy lanes around the Bay of Cadiz and the Strait of Gibraltar from April to August, and that seafarers have seen several in recent weeks. They say they've seen a killer whale head.
Researchers don't know why the pod targets boats, but they theorize that this behavior is a form of play for curious apex predators. This exchange has become so frequent that it is now a multilateral issue involving scientists and officials from Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. Online, anxious sailors are gathering to share advice on navigating “orca alley,” and biologists are tracking the killer whales' movements and testing ways to stop them.
In a statement, the government recommended that if a killer whale is encountered, boats should not stop and head for shallow water near the coast.
However, the number of incidents may be decreasing. Researchers from the Atlantic Killer Whale Task Force announced Monday that the number of interactions between orcas and boats from January to May was down about 40% compared to similar periods over the past three years.