An eyewitness on board a sailing boat captured the moment a group of killer whales attacked their vessel off the coast of southern Spain late on Wednesday and into Thursday.
It's the latest in a series of dozens of similar orca attacks recorded so far this year on Spanish and Portuguese coasts.
A group of orcas broke the rudder and pierced the hull after ramming into the vessel on its way to Gibraltar, prompting its crew of four to contact Spanish authorities for help, a spokesman for the local maritime rescue service said.
Eyewitness video showed orcas ramming into the boat and the crew attempting to scare off the whales with noise.
A crew member said they were in the Strait of Gibraltar after setting sail from the Azores when the incident occurred.
The service deployed a rapid-response vessel and a helicopter carrying a bilge pump to assist the 20m vessel, which was sailing under a British flag, the maritime rescue service said. The Mustique was towed to the port of Barbate, in the province of Cadiz, for repairs.
According to the research group GTOA, which tracks populations of the Iberian orca sub-species, the incident follows at least 20 interactions this month alone in the Strait of Gibraltar between small vessels and the highly social apex predators. In 2022, there were 207 reported interactions, GTOA data showed.
Earlier in May, the sailing yacht Alboran Champagne suffered a similar impact from three orcas half a nautical mile off Barbate. The ship could not be towed as it was completely flooded and was left adrift to sink.
Guidelines issued by the Spanish Transport Ministry stipulate that whenever ships observe any alteration in the behavior of orcas - such as sudden changes of direction or speed - they should leave the area as soon as possible and avoid further disturbance to the animals during the maneuvers.
Every interaction between a ship and an orca must be reported to authorities, the ministry added.
Although known as killer whales, endangered orcas are part of the dolphin family. They can measure up to eight meters and weigh up to six tonnes as adults.
