A yacht sank after being attacked by a pod of killer whales for 45 minutes, a sailing company said, in the latest attack on a boat by marine mammals this year.
Polish tour operator Morskie Mile – which means “nautical miles” – said in a Facebook post that its yacht Grazie Mamma II was attacked while sailing in the Strait of Gibraltar between Spain and Morocco on October 31.
The company said that the whales attacked the boat’s rudder, causing severe damage and a leak. Despite the captain’s attempt to move the boat to the nearest port, and a rescue attempt in which the Moroccan Navy participated, the yacht sank near the entrance to Tangier Med Port, about an hour’s drive east of Tangier.
The company said in a statement quoted by the Polish network NBC News that the boat crew was not injured. The same statement was posted on the company’s website by company owner Lech Lewandowski.
“For us, this yacht was everything that was great about offshore sailing,” he said.
“Long-lasting friendships were formed on board. We sailed this yacht through the most beautiful places in Europe and the Atlantic archipelago, trained many yacht captains, discovered the beautiful and the unknown, tasted the specialties of the Mediterranean and sailed, sailed, sailed,” Lewandowski continued.
The company said it plans to honor upcoming cruise bookings with “Friends Yachts.” Future voyages will take place in the Baltic Sea, Norway, Italy and the Canary Islands, according to the company’s website. A single trip can cost PLN 1,800 ($432).
In May, it emerged that killer whales were responsible for attacking and sinking three boats in southern Europe. Encounters between killer whales and humans have increased since 2020. Researchers saybut no human deaths have been reported.
Increased orca activity has spawned a slew of memes online this year, with some claiming to have joined “orca wars” alongside killer whales.
In September, a Russian boat on a round-the-world trip sank after a prolonged attack by small sharks.
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