Another yacht has sunk in the Straits of Gibraltar after an “interaction” with a group of Orca, according to Spanish authorities who rescued the vessel’s crew after the boat started taking on water.

Published 4 months ago

Vessel Hit Several Times by Orca Pod

Source:  Maritime News and Salvamento Marítimo

On the night of Wednesday July 24, the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre at Tarifa received a distress call from the yacht Bonhomme William. The crew reported that their vessel had been disabled by orcas, which had hit it several times, and was adrift about two miles off Punta Camarinal, in the straits’ western entrance.

The rescue vessel Salvamar Enif got under way for the scene, and as it transited to rendezvous with the stricken Bonhomme William, the yacht’s crew radioed to report that the orcas continued to strike the disabled vessel. The pod of assertive killer whales caused so much damage that the yacht began taking on water and it was clear that it was in danger of sinking. The crew deployed their life raft as a precautionary measure while they awaited rescue.

Salvamar Enif’s crew arrived on scene, rescued the three sailors and retrieved some of the hazardous materials aboard the yacht. By the time they departed, Bonhomme William was halfway submerged with its stern in the air and it later sank. The responders safely rescued all three crew members from the sailing vessel and delivered them to shore in Cadiz.

Second Vessel Sinking in Three Months

It is the second Orca-related sinking in three months in the same area. In May, a pod of Orcas intercepted the yacht Alboran Cognac off Tangier, on the Moroccan side of the strait. The interaction left the yacht leaking and disabled and the two crew members had to be rescued by a passing tanker.

Just one week earlier, on 16 July, two young orcas broke the rudder of a 12m wooden yacht SW of Brest near Guilvinec in NW France. It subsequently had to be towed into port. See news here.

A small number of Orcas in Spain’s nearshore population have been targeting yachts regularly since about 2020. These killer whales are specific in their preferences: According to researchers, the orcas always target sailing yachts measuring less than 15 meters long, usually while under way. They appear to be indifferent to the crew. (There has never been a recorded fatal orca attack in the wild – a reassuring fact, since they are among the ocean’s most capable predators.)

Some scientists who have studied the yacht-strike pattern believe that it is a form of play: the whales are all juveniles from the same pod, and may simply enjoy slamming sailboat rudders to watch the boats spin around. A competing theory, suggested by biologist Alfredo López Fernández of the University of Alviedo, is that an orca was injured by a vessel at some point in the past and its family is taking revenge. Whatever the cause may be, the Orcas appear to ignore fishing boats and other working vessels, saving all their energy for yachts alone.

New Guidelines from the Spanish Government

The Spanish Government have issued new guidelines on how to avoid orca, and what to do in the event of an interaction (see poster image).

Latest Interactions:

See the Noonsite Orca and Yachts page for more information and a list of resources for following the orcas and their activity.

The Orcas.pt website reports three interactions between yachts and orcas in late July on the 24th, 25th and 27th in the waters off southern Spain and close to Tarifa and the Straits of Gibraltar.  Two other sightings were recorded in the same area in the week prior.

Cruising Association Orca Data:

Related News:

• Orcas Sink British Yacht in Strait of Gibraltar (Telegraph)
• Strait of Gibraltar:  Vessel Sinks After Damage from Orca Interation (Noonsite May 2024)
• Two Young Orcas Ram Sailboat off Northern France (livescience.com)
• Cruising Association Releases Historic Orca Interaction Data to Assist Passage Planning

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Related Links:

• Noonsite Cruising Resources:  Orcas and Yachts
• Salvamento Marítimo 

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Noonsite has not independently verified this information.

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