SR
5/25/2023, 6:32 p.m
Updated: May 25, 2023, 7:13 p.m
Today, a new killer whale attack on a vessel was recorded off the coast of southern Spain. The target was a sailboat, which suffered serious injuries in the attack.
In the Atlantic Ocean off the coasts of Spain and Portugal, several dozen attacks by killer whales or orcas on various vessels have already been recorded this year. This morning, a group of orcas attacked the 20-meter sailboat Mustique, which was on its way to Gibraltar. The attack damaged the rudder and punctured the vessel’s hull, so the four-man crew had to ask the local sea rescue service for help. The rescuers went to the place with a helicopter and a rescue vessel. The British-flagged yacht had to be drained of water before being towed to the nearby port of Barbate in the Spanish province of Cadiz, where it remains under repair.
According to researchers from the GTOA (Atlantic Orca Working Group), which monitors Iberian orca populations in the area, a subspecies of these killer whales, at least 20 close encounters between smaller vessels and these “very sociable predators” have been recorded in the Strait of Gibraltar in the last month alone. ,” and in the whole of last year, 207 such incidents were reported. Although orcas are known as killer whales, they are actually the largest species in the dolphin family. Adult specimens can grow up to eight meters in length and weigh up to six tons.
At the beginning of May, in one such attack near the port of Barbate, the yacht Alboran Champagne was attacked by three orcas. Due to severe damage, the sailboat was not able to be towed to the harbor and sank.
