More and more attacks Norwegian sailing boat damaged by orcas off Portugal

Since 2020, boats off the coasts of south-western Europe have repeatedly been so badly damaged by orcas that the crews need help to get back to land. Now there has been a new case.

DPA

05.01.2025, 17:36

dpa

A sailing boat sailing under the Norwegian flag has been severely damaged by orcas off the coast of Portugal. Among other things, the boat lost its rudder, reported the newspaper "Correio da Manhã", citing the relevant authorities. The port commander of Setúbal, Serrano Augusto, confirmed the incident on request.

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The attack by the killer whales occurred on Saturday in the Atlantic around 20 kilometers south of Sesimbra. The two crew members were unharmed. The sailors immediately alerted the authorities in Sesimbra after the interaction. They were initially assisted by a merchant ship and later rescued by the sea rescue service, it was reported.

Mysterious behavior

Such incidents were completely unheard of until a few years ago. The first damage to sailing boats during encounters with the so-called Iberian orcas was only reported - and often captured on video - in 2020, the year of the pandemic.

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According to the latest assessment by the organization "GT Orca Atlántica" (GTOA), there were a total of 824 documented interactions in the Strait of Gibraltar and the western Mediterranean, off the coast of Portugal and further north in the Atlantic off the north coast of Spain and the west coast of France between 2020 and the end of August 2024. In around 20 percent of these cases, the boats were severely damaged.

Experts are puzzled

Researchers do not speak of attacks, but rather of encounters and interactions. They assume that the killer whales are not acting with aggressive intent. The incidents puzzle the experts, because although orcas live all over the world, only animals in the Iberian region have shown this mysterious behavior so far. There are several theories, but no certain answers yet, the scientists admit.

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The orcas, which are often up to ten meters long and sometimes weigh over six tons, are the largest species in the dolphin family. They eat tuna, herring, seals, penguins and seabirds and also attack sharks, dolphins and other whales. These animals have been known to the general public since the film series "Free Willy".