Orcas sink a yacht in the Strait of Gibraltar

A pod of orcas attacked and sank a 15m yacht in Moroccan waters in the Strait of Gibraltar in May, the latest in a series of encounters in the area that have sunk five yachts in the past four years, the Spanish maritime authorities reported.

- Heather Prentice

Two crew members aboard the yacht Alboran Cognac, a Sun Odyssey 519 charter boat, sent out a distress call on Sunday, 12 May at 0900 local time (0700 GMT) when the pod of orcas attacked the rudder, the Spanish Coast Guard reported.

The crew sounded the alarm when the orca rammed the hull and rudder with one blow, rupturing the hull and creating a serious situation.

The Moroccan maritime authorities instructed the Alboran Cognac crew to put on life jackets and activate their AIS as the boat started taking on water.

A Coast Guard helicopter was scrambled and a nearby tanker MT Lascaux diverted to pick up the crew from the stricken yacht. The yacht then later sank.