Sailors have been warned not to go out to sea following a recent spate of terrifying orca attacks off the Spanish coast.
The coastguard advised sailors in Galicia to remain in the harbor after receiving reports of whales ramming the rudders of boats in far shallower waters than usual.
One of the attacks happened on Saturday at Vilaxoan, a busy fishing and boating area in the Ria de Arousa, an estuary not known for encounters with orcas, The Times reports.
Most reported attacks since 2020 have been in deeper waters in less busy areas along the Atlantic coast of Galicia and near the Strait of Gibraltar, where orcas traditionally follow bluefin tuna migrations.
Orcas were not known to interact with boats but reports of Iberian pods ramming into and damaging vessels have surged in recent years, suggesting the behavior is becoming more common.
Many biologists believe the whales may be attacking out of boredom, seeking out an adrenaline rush.
Another yacht was also attacked on Saturday at Castiñeiras in the Arousa estuary and several more interactions with boats were reported.
The affected ship, which was flying a French flag, received assistance and was escorted to Xufre on the island of Arousa.
Sailors have been warned not to go out to sea following a recent spate of terrifying orca attacks off the Spanish coast
The worst hit was a German boat, after an orca smashed into its rudder, causing significant damage
In 2023, a British sailor told how she endured a night of terror after her yacht was wrecked by killer whales an hour off the coast of Spain. A video shows a group of orcas honing in on the yacht before attacking it
The terrifying moment a British yachtsman’s boat was sank after it was attacked by orcas in the Strait of Gibraltar was caught on camera last year
An orca ambush off the coast of Gibraltar in 2023 month lasted around an hour and left a Cambridge couple shocked and confused
The worst hit was a German boat, after an orca smashed into its rudder, causing significant damage.
When the vessel sailed inland the orcas continued to chase it until it was within half a nautical mile of the shore.
Other boats managed to avoid the orcas thanks to the actions of a Civil Guard vessel.
‘The Civil Guard saved us, as they didn’t hesitate to put the bow of their patrol boat right in front of the orcas,’ a crew member on a chartered boat told La Voz de Galicia.
The whales were also seen hunting and eating octopus, which are found in shallower waters. Experts say this is unusual as their diet mainly consists of tuna.
A research vessel of the Bottlenose Dolphin Research Institute observed orcas making a ‘series of long and repeated vertical dives, changes of course, controlled ascents and brief ventilation pauses, typical of benthic foraging … emerging with an octopus in their mouths’.
It comes after the terrifying moment a British yachtsman’s boat was sank after it was attacked by orcas in the Strait of Gibraltar was caught on camera last year.
Robert Powell and two other occupants of Bonhomme William had to be rescued by coastguards after the vessel had its steering disabled and started taking on water.
An orca encroaches Janet Morris and Stephen Bidwell, on a boat sailing near Gibraltar
Brit sailor Robert Powell and two other occupants of Bonhomme William had to be rescued by coastguards after the vessel had its steering disabled and started taking on water
The London-based managing director said in agonising social media posts showing his yacht disappearing under the sea that the yacht was attacked by a pod of five orcas between the southern towns of Tarifa and Barbate.
‘We were all rescued and are safe now,’ he assured concerned friends at the time.
‘Sadly these [orcas] were not playing. It was a well-orchestrated and organised attack to sink my boat.’
‘Yesterday evening a yacht a sailboat called Bonhomme William which was two miles off Camarinal Cape between Tarifa and Barbate reported that after interaction with orcas she needed to be towed as her steering system was inoperative,’ a spokesman for the Spanish Coastguard Service said in a statement.
And, in 2023, a British sailor told how she endured a night of terror after her yacht was wrecked by killer whales which continuously rammed into the vessel for over an hour off the coast of Spain.
A video shared by 31-year-old April Boyes shows a group of orcas honing in on the yacht before attacking it with a heart-stopping thud, prompting one crew member to scream in terror.
The group of predators, which is said to have been ‘taught’ to attack vessels by a female killer whale called White Gladis, are seen surrounding the yacht off the coast of Gibraltar before repeatedly slamming into it.
Boyes can be heard shakily saying: ‘Jesus, oh my God,’ as each thud causes more damage to the boat, eventually destroying the rudder and piercing the hull. ‘It’s like they are biting it apart,’ the sailor says in the video.
Pictured: A sailing boat damaged by killer whales off the coast of southern Spain, at a port in Barbate, on May 24
Orcas were not known to interact with boats but reports of Iberian pods ramming into and damaging vessels have surged in recent years, suggesting the behavior is becoming more common (stock image)
In terrifying scenes, with the predators now invisible under the cover of darkness, the attacks became more frequent. A desperate male crew member can be heard telling Spanish authorities: ‘We need assistance immediately, we are sinking, we are sinking.’
In the attack, one crew member, wearing a torch on his head, can be seen frantically trying to empty the rising water from the vessel’s engine room using a bucket.
The four-member crew were eventually able to breathe a sigh of relief as a Spanish rescue vessel and helicopter raced towards them in the middle of the night.
Ms Boyes said of the terrifying ordeal: ‘What started off as a seemingly unique encounter ended with orcas breaking off our rudder from the boat, then proceeding to tear bits off the boat for an hour.
‘A huge hole in the gull meant we had water ingress to other parts of the boat and the engine room and I can honestly say it was a scary experience. We are all safe, I’m feeling grateful for the coastguard.’
The crew was rescued by the coastguard and the 66ft-long vessel, which was sailing under a British flag, was towed to the port of Barbate, in the province of Cadiz, for repairs.
Earlier that same year around six orcas reportedly rammed the hull of a Bavaria 46 cruiser yacht on the Strait of Gibraltar.
The ambush lasted around an hour and left a Cambridge couple shocked and confused.
Janet Morris and Stephen Bidwell, both 58, were on the yacht when they were alerted with the cry of ‘orcas!’
Mr Bidwell told The Telegraph that it was ‘an experience I will never forget’.
‘I kept reminding myself we had a 22-ton boat made of steel, but seeing three of them coming at once, quickly and at pace with their fins out of the water was daunting.’
‘We were sitting ducks,’ Ms Morris added.
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