A sailing yacht was sunk off the northwest coast of Spain on Tuesday after a group of orcas rammed its rudder and caused it to take on water. The two individuals on board the vessel, named Idem, were rescued by a private boat and later transported to the town of Carino by the Spanish Coastguard. They were unharmed.
The incident occurred around 5 p.m. near Estaca de Bares, the northernmost point of mainland Spain. A Spanish Coastguard helicopter surveyed the area for signs of pollution following the sinking.
This event was the fourth interaction between orcas and sailboats in the same vicinity on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, another sailing yacht, Glatisant, was left adrift with an inoperable rudder after an encounter and was escorted to port by a coastguard vessel. A third yacht, Kador, also reported an interaction with orcas, but its crew managed to reach Viveiro without requiring assistance. A fourth vessel experienced minimal rudder damage and continued to its destination.
These encounters add to a series of similar incidents involving orcas and yachts in recent years. In October of the previous year, a family of five was rescued by a military helicopter after their yacht sank off the coast of Portugal following an orca attack. Footage from September of last year also showed orcas sinking a yacht near Lisbon, and another boat in the same area sustained damage from a similar interaction.
Experts have offered various theories for the orcas' behavior, suggesting they may be targeting vessels for sport or due to feeling threatened, though the exact reasons remain unclear.