Vessel measuring 15 metres in length sank after encounter with the animals, Spain’s maritime rescue service reports

An unknown number of orcas have sunk a yacht after ramming it in Moroccan waters in the strait of Gibraltar, Spain’s maritime rescue service has said, in the latest in a series of similar incidents involving the animals.

The vessel, Alboran Cognac, which measured 15 metres (49ft) in length and carried two people, encountered the highly social apex predators, also known as killer whales, at 9am local time on Sunday.

The passengers reported feeling sudden blows to the hull and rudder before the boat started taking on water. After alerting the rescue services, a nearby oil tanker took them onboard and transported them to Gibraltar. The yacht was left adrift and eventually sank.

The incident is the latest example of recurring orca rammings around the Gibraltar strait that separates Europe from Africa and off the Atlantic coast of Portugal and north-western Spain. Experts believe them to involve a subpopulation of about 15 individuals given the designation “Gladis”.

  • @riodoro1English
    7•1 month ago

    How did they manage to break the hull?

    • @[email protected]OPEnglish
      7•1 month ago

      According to the Cruising Association, three yachts were sunk in 2022 and 2023 after orca interactions. As Fantini says, breaking the rudder completely can open a hole, and water can rush in, sinking the boat. Even those sailing in sturdy racing boats, with back-up rudders and rescue services close by, can find the experience frightening.

      There’s a video on the source page of the orcas banging against the rudder. https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20230626-why-are-orcas-suddenly-ramming-boats

    • @CortEnglish
      4•1 month ago

      I’m guessing fiberglass not a steel hull. So ramming it with the momentum of a small whale would delaminate or crack it.

      • @riodoro1English
        3•1 month ago

        That’s why im surprised. The laminate on those boats is pretty damn thick. It takes a lot of force to break it. Blunt meat impacts don’t sound like enough but maybe at this scale it is.