Orcas Back in the Spotlight as Boat Sinks Near Strait of Gibraltar
We’ve written two or three stories about orcas attacking sailboats over the past year or two. Well, they’re at it again. Orcas have reportedly attacked a boat near the Strait of Gibraltar on Sunday, causing it to sink. The New York Times reports the 50-ft sailboat Alboran Cognac was approached approximately 14 miles off the coast of Cape Spartel, Morocco. The vessel’s two crew reported the orcas had “slammed the hull, damaged the rudder and caused a leak.” A nearby oil tanker diverted and picked up the sailors; the boat was left adrift, and according to Moroccan authorities, eventually sank.
The research group GT Orca Atlántica (GTOA) tracks populations of the Iberian orca subpopulation, and says there have been nearly 700 interactions since orca attacks on ships in the region were first reported in May 2020. While their records show a decline in attacks, the incidents are occurring often enough that mariners are forming various community groups to report sightings and interactions with orcas in the coastal regions of Spain, Portugal and Northern Africa.
GTOA hosts a website where mariners can see and report incidents involving orcas.
Noonsite.com has a page dedicated to orca encounters, with a map showing the animals’ annual migratory path along Spain’s coast and an action plan for mariners, devised in 2021.
One Facebook group that calls itself Orcas Attacks Solutions has a great slogan for the orcas — if only they could read.
Another group, Orca Attack Reports, has 62,900 members and is open to everyone. Again, members share news and information about orca sightings in transit.
To date, we are unaware of any mariner having died as a result of the orcas’ actions, but we understand this latest incident marks the fifth boat that has sunk. Our guess is it might not be the last.
What research is being done on electronic or mechanical emmissions from the sailboats being attacked. The Orcas are obviously reacting to some perceived threat. Some harmonic being emmited is causing a defense reaction
By the Orca population in this area. Could be related to some new technology being employed my naval forces operating in the area. The sailboats may not be the emitters of harmonics but maybe the reflecting targets of some new or upgraded naval
detection capability. It’s not the Orcas developing some new aversion to the sailboats themselves. We humans have a propensity for being blind to what we put out into the biosphere.