Another 2020 story. Despite being dubbed killer whales, orcas in the wild have a long history of not attacking humans and rarely attacking boats. [Edited — see note at the end of the post.] (The situation with orcas in captivity is not as clear.) But, something very strange has been happening recently off the coast of Spain and Portugal. Pods of orcas have been reported to be ramming sailboats and often grabbing their rudders. The encounters have been reported from Gibraltar to Galacia and have caused significant damage, most often to the boat’s steering. Scientists are at a loss to explain the behavior.

The Guardian reports that in the last two months, from southern to northern Spain, sailors have sent distress calls after worrying encounters. Two boats lost part of their rudders, at least one crew member suffered bruising from the impact of the ramming, and several boats sustained serious damage.

The latest incident occurred on Friday afternoon just off A Coruña, on the northern coast of Spain. Halcyon Yachts was taking a 36ft boat to the UK when an orca rammed its stern at least 15 times, according to Pete Green, the company’s managing director. The boat lost steering and was towed into port to assess damage.

Around the same time there were radio warnings of orca sightings 70 miles south, at Vigo, near the site of at least two recent collisions. On 30 August, a French-flagged vessel radioed the coastguard to say it was “under attack” from killer whales. Later that day, a Spanish naval yacht, Mirfak, lost part of its rudder after an encounter with orcas under the stern.

On 29 July, off Cape Trafalgar, Victoria Morris was crewing a 46ft delivery boat that was surrounded by nine orcas. The cetaceans rammed the hull for over an hour, spinning the boat 180 degrees, disabling the engine, and breaking the rudder, as they communicated with loud whistling. The boat was towed to the nearby town of Barbate, she said.  When the boat was inspected, they discovered that the keel was covered in bite marks and two-thirds of the rudder was torn off.

Earlier that week, another boat in the area reported a 50-minute encounter; the skipper said the force of the ramming “nearly dislocated the helmsman’s shoulder”.

At 11.30 the previous night, British couple Beverly Harris and Kevin Large’s 40ft yacht was brought to a sudden halt, then spun several times; Harris felt the boat “raise a little”.

Earlier that evening, Nick Giles was motorsailing alone when he heard a horrific bang “like a sledgehammer”, saw his wheel “turning with incredible force”, disabling the steering as his 34ft Moody yacht spun 180 degrees. He felt the boat lift and said he was pushed around without steering for 15 minutes.

Note: I have been reminded that there is at least one well-known case of orcas attacking and sinking a sailboat without apparent provocation. In 1972, a pod of orcas sank the 43ft schooner Lucette in the Pacific near the Galapagos Islands. To read more: Shipwrecked by whales: The Robertson family survival story