Young Orcas again attacked another boat in Portugal.
A pod of killer whales rammed and sank a tourist yacht off the Portuguese coast on Saturday, September 20, 2025.
Yacht was carrying five people when killer whales attacked near Fonte Da Telha Beach.
According to Maritime Authority, search and rescue crews from Lisbon and the lifeguard station in Cascais responded to the incidents, after receiving alerts.
Luckily all tourists on boat were rescued safe.
When they arrived at the site of the attack off the beach of Fonte da Telha, responders found that five people had already fled their boat and moved to a different tourist vessel that offered to help.
They helped transport the boat to a port close to Lisbon, the Maritime Authority said.
Moreover, documented interactions between orcas and humans have increased over the last several years,
The recent confrontations at the sea are the latest in growing pattern of incidents in recent years where orcas, also known as 'killer whales', ambush seafarers throughout the region.
Research group Orca Iberica (GTOA) says it has recorded hundreds of so-called "interactions" with orcas and sailing vessels in that region between 2020 and 2024, including incidents where pods of killer whales repeatedly rammed, push and, in some cases, successfully turned the boats they targeted, causing damage to vessels.
As per latest updates from the past 6 months, there have been more than 40 reported incidents involving orcas off coast Portugal and Spain. However, the activity continued with reports of damage to boats and a sinking incident in September 2025, off the Portuguese coast.
Dr. Clare Andvik, a marine mammal expert at the University of Oslo, said the stimulation is ramped up for the whale if the humans onboard the ship try to steer away, creating greater resistance for the orcas to test their might against.
She said the experience amounted to one big game of tug-of-war for the whales.
“Of course, from the human perspective this kind of behavior is not at all fun and it doesn’t seem to them like a game as they are getting knocked around,” told Andvik.
“And in some cases, the rudder can be broken off completely and cause the boat to take on water and eventually sink, which is fun for the orcas, not for the humans,” she added.
The Orcas are known to target the rudder of sailboats. While not always resulting in sinking, some incidents has led to significant boat damage and a few have caused fatalities to sailors in the past too.
The primary areas of these encounters remain the waters around the Iberian Peninsula, particularly near the strait of Gibraltar and the Atlantic coasts of Spain and Portugal.
Few researchers assume that it is their mode of playing, as the Orcas are specifically aiming for the ships’ rudders, they enjoy the rocking of the ship and the resistance, treating it as a toy that stimulates them.
While it is unclear but the scientists are still studying the specific behavior and reasons for the persistent orca attacks.