A group of orcas recently nearly sank another sailboat in the Strait of Gibraltar and followed the vessel all the way to port — marking the first-known case of the killer whales stalking a boat after destroying its rudder.
Orcas started behaving unusually and attacking boats in 2020. Since July 2020, there have been 744 reported encounters, 505 of which involved contact between the animals and the ship, according to the Atlantic Orca Working Group (GTOA). One in five interactions have prevented boats from sailing on and three have ended in vessels sinking.
