Two people rescued from sailboat off coast of Spain after encounter with pod of killer whales

Two people were rescued by Spain's Salvamento Marítimo maritime rescue services on Monday, 21 July, after their sailing boat encountered a pod of killer whales some 3.7 kilometres off the coast of Deba.

It was around 2pm when the Bilbao maritime rescue service received a radio alert from a French boat. The crew on board reported that a pod of killer whales had "attacked" the hull of their boat, which caused damage to the rudder, making it impossible for them to manoeuvre the vessel.

A rescue operation was launched and when the team reached the boat, they found the two people on board unharmed. Despite the damage, the boat was not at risk of sinking, so it was towed to the port of Getaria. The rescue operation lasted more than three and a half hours.

Although the presence of killer whales has been recorded on the Basque coastline, until now encounters with boats have mainly been documented in the south of Spain in the Strait of Gibraltar or Tarifa areas, where these animals are a common sight, especially between April and August. This is, in fact, the first known encounter in the Basque Country.

However, in recent years killer whale encounters have also spread to other parts of the mainland coast, especially in Galicia, where sailing between Ferrol and Estaca de Bares had to be limited in 2020 due to these incidents.

An incessant increase in killer whale encounters with boats even led the Spanish and Portuguese governments to commission a scientific study on the subject, which revealed that this phenomenon was a new form of entertainment among the youngest killer whales.

"From May 2020 to the same dates in 2024, there are at least 637 documented interactions between killer whales and boats. However, this behaviour is more linked to play than to aggression," said marine biologist Naomi Rose, who explained that killer whales are very intelligent animals and "that, if they wanted to sink boats, they would succeed".

As Rose said, "only 20% of incidents have caused irreparable damage to sailboats" and there have been no human casualties.

However, such an incident poses a serious risk for both sailboats and crew members, which is why Spain's Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility has created a guide on how to act in the event of interactions with killer whales.

One advice is to not stop the boat but continue sailing towards the shore, reaching shallower waters, regardless of the boat's characteristics - motor or sailing. In addition, the crew should stay in positions that would protect them from sudden movements that could lead to injuries or falling into the sea.