On October 31, a crew aboard a sailboat was passing through the Strait of Gibraltar when they encountered a pod of orcas that rammed into their boat for 45 minutes. The relentless attack, which was focused on the steering gear, ended up causing a leak that was not fixable.
The captain and crew were saved by a search-and-rescue team and the Moroccan Navy. Nobody was injured, but the vessel sank about 30 miles northeast of Tangier, Morocco, along the Strait of Gibraltar. The boat belonged to a Polish tour company, but no guests were aboard when the whales attacked.
This is not the first time that killer whales have attacked vessels off the coast of Spain and Portugal and near the Strait of Gibraltar, but it is unusual for an attack to lead to a sinking. According to research from the Atlantic Orca Working Group (GTOA), killer whale attacks have tripled over the last two years. Despite speculation and various theories, scientists are still unsure what is causing the orcas to attack boats.
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