British sailors are being urged to exercise caution after a yacht was rammed by orcas off the coast of northern Spain. The incident occurred on Monday when two sailors aboard a French vessel reported an attack by killer whales approximately two miles from the town of Deba, near Bilbao.
The Spanish coastguard rescued the pair, who were brought safely to shore. Rescuers noted that such incidents are rare in the Basque Country, with this being the first orca attack they had attended in the region. Similar events are more common in the “orca alley” of the Strait of Gibraltar, further south.
Professor Volker Deecke, a wildlife conservation expert at the University of Cumbria, advised UK sailors to familiarise themselves with guidance on encountering orcas. He stated that the same precautions apply in British waters, especially after Iberian orcas were recently spotted off Cornwall.
Guidance includes turning off engines and lowering sails if orcas are sighted, switching off autopilot and echo sounders, and avoiding loud noises. Staying in shallow waters is also recommended to make it harder for orcas to ram rudders.
Experts believe the attacks are not aggressive but stem from boredom. “For some unknown reason, the killer whales have developed a penchant for breaking the rudders of sailboats,” Professor Deecke explained. “During interactions, the animals remain cool, calm and collected without any behavioural signs of aggression.”
