A French-flagged sailing yacht has sunk off the coast of Portugal. The Portuguese Maritime Authority (Autoridade Marítima Nacional) reported that there had been an incident involving orcas. The orcas caused water to enter the yacht, which then sank. The incident occurred around 14 nautical miles west of the harbour of Viana do Castelo.
When the rescue services arrived at the scene of the accident, it turned out that the four crew members had already been rescued from a nearby sailing boat. They were in good condition and did not require any further medical assistance.
Whale attacks on the rise
Exactly how this incident occurred is not yet known, nor is the status of the recovery work. However, this is not the first report of this kind. Since 2020, boats have been repeatedly struck, rammed and, in particular, their rudder blades damaged - mostly affecting sailing yachts up to 15 metres in length. The Spanish government has therefore repeatedly had to close particularly affected areas to smaller sailing vessels.
Less than 100 kilometres as the crow flies from the current case near Viana do Castelo, a similar attack caused a furore in September of this year. A Norwegian family was attacked twice by orcas in their sailing yacht off the coast of Galicia within the space of just one month. Both times, the whales damaged the rudder blade. It is unclear why the orcas are targeting yachts there. So far there are only hypotheses, which is why scientists avoid talking about "attacks" at all.
Orcas also in the North and Baltic Seas
But even greater damage cannot be ruled out. A few months ago, killer whales caused a yacht to sink for the first time. Also off the Portuguese coast, the crew was rescued in time.
Experts advise keeping calm in the event of an encounter and switching off the engine and electronics. There are around 50,000 orcas in the wild worldwide. They are mainly found in the North Pacific, North Atlantic and polar seas. Marine biologist and behavioural scientist Karsten Brensing explains why orcas could also be expected to increase in the North Sea and Baltic Sea: "If they find food somewhere, they will swim there. As a result of climate change, the sea here is getting warmer, certain animal species are migrating further north and the orcas' food supply is changing. They are fit enough to recognise this and communicate it to other orcas in their community."
