British-registered yacht sinks off south coast of Spain following 'encounter' with killer whales

Crew aboard the sailboat Bonhomme William had to be rescued from the sea off the south of Spain on Wednesday night as the boat was sailing across the waters between Tarifa and Barbate (Cadiz province).

According to Spain's coastguard and maritime rescue service (Salvamento Marítimo), their rescue boat Enif was mobilised after receiving the alert that this British-flagged vessel was apparently in distress. As the crew stated when the alarm was raised, they had suffered an "encounter with orcas". Within minutes of the collision it was reported that the boat had sprung a leak and it was sinking.

The rescue boat immediately headed towards the coordinates provided. When it arrived at the point where the boat was sinking, the crew could see that the people who had been on the yacht had lit two hand flares to wave around and a third one with a parachute had been launched into the night sky so that their position could be easily seen. All the sailing vessel's crew members were wearing life-jackets and were in a life raft in the water. After being picked up, they were taken to the port of Barbate, where all were found to be uninjured. However, the small yacht, a sailing boat some 12 metres in length, was badly damaged and sinking.

Once the statements given by those involved are verified, this could be a new case of an 'attack' or at least an aggressive encounter with orcas for another nautical vessel crossing the Strait.

Just a few weeks ago another group of orcas caused the crew aboard the sailboat Kelba, moored in the port of Ceuta, to need to be saved. The encounter caused the rudder and keel to break requiring the intervention of maritime rescue service and Guardia Civil to rescue the three crew members on board the boat at the time.

These 'attacks', or 'encounters' as the experts like to call them, are already common along the Cadiz coastline during the season from March to October, from approximately Barbate to the Strait of Gibraltar.

This behaviour from these cetaceans is still being studied and there are several theories. Some specialists believe that it is a form of training - the mothers teach their calves to hunt head-on the many tuna found in the Strait of Gibraltar and they end up confusing rudders for fins.

Another view is that this is simply a 'game', something they do for entertainment. This is the theory of the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

In view of these encounters not being a one-off and thus the risk they pose to maritime navigation, the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) is carrying out a study in collaboration with CIRCE (an organisation for the Conservation, Information and Study of Cetaceans). This will involve satellite tags being placedon six orcas.

As part of this project one specimen has already been tagged, having already been identified as one of those involved in the recent clashes with boats. For its part, the Capitanía Marítima (an independent maritime authority for the principal coastal areas of Spain, responsible for shipping licences and maritime safety) has called for caution and has recommended that boats do not navigate in the areas where most killer whales are being spotted.