Orcas Sink Sailboat in Latest Attack off Moroccan Coast

Another orca attack. On Sunday, the 15-meter-long Alboran Cognac vessel carrying two people was targeted in Moroccan waters in the Strait of Gibraltar, the Spanish maritime rescue service said. Orcas thus sank the boat. The passengers recount feeling sudden blows on the hull and rudder before water began to seep into the vessel, reports Daily Mail. Immediately, they alerted the rescue services. Subsequently, a nearby tanker picked them up and transported them to Gibraltar.

Orca attacks around the Strait of Gibraltar separating Europe from Africa and off the Atlantic coast of Portugal and northwestern Spain are recurrent. There have been nearly 700 interactions since orca attacks on vessels in the region were first reported in May 2020, says the Atlantic Orca Working Group (GTOA). According to experts, it is a group of about 15 individuals led by a female named White Gladis. These cetaceans measure up to eight meters and can weigh up to six tons as adults. They are highly intelligent.

The causes of the behavior of these cetaceans are not known. According to researchers, it would be a playful manifestation of the curiosity of the mammals, a social trend or the intentional targeting of what they perceive as competitors of their preferred prey, the local bluefin tuna.