--- title: "Relentless Orca Repeatedly Rams Yacht" description: "An orca repeatedly slammed into a yacht sailing in the North Sea off the coast of Scotland earlier this week." date: "2023-06-22" modified: "2023-06-22" authors: - name: "Frank Landymore" job_title: "Contributing Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/flandymore" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/orca-rams-yacht" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "killer whales" - "ocean" - "orcas" - "the digest" --- # Relentless Orca Repeatedly Rams Yacht ![An orca repeatedly slammed into a yacht sailing in the North Sea off the coast of Scotland earlier this week.]() *\Image: Getty Images\* ## Things Go North An orca repeatedly slammed into a yacht sailing in the North Sea off the coast of Scotland earlier this week, marking the first orca attack in northern waters. In other words, the recent onslaught of [orca attacks on ships](), it seems, could be spreading. "What I felt \[was\] most frightening was the very loud breathing of the animal," Wim Rutten, a retired Dutch physicist who was captaining the ship, [told *The Guardian*]()*.* The orca rammed the boat over and over, sending "soft shocks" through the hull. Once it stopped its assault, the whale dropped back and ominously trailed the vessel, "looking for the keel." The whale "disappeared," Rutten described, "but came back at fast speed, twice or thrice… and circled a bit." ## Attacking Spree Killer whales have been terrorizing sailors for over a month. But until now, most if not all of the dozens of [recent orca attacks]() on boats have been roughly contained to the seas south of Spain, in an area known as the Strait of Gibraltar. Recently released [footage]() shows an orca slamming into a sailboat off Spain's southern coast, damaging the hull and forcing sailors to pump water out of the boat. The behavior is as unusual as it is terrifying. Until aggressive encounters were first documented [back in 2020](), orcas had been rarely known to approach, let alone attack, humans or their vessels. It was only in recent months that those burgeoning encounters [escalated to sinking ships](). Orcas, like many whales, are incredibly [social and intelligent creatures](). Scientists suspect that the behavior is being taught by adults to their pods, and then spreading. The behavior moving from the Strait of Gibraltar all the way north of Scotland is quite a stretch, but some scientists say it's entirely possible. "I'd be reluctant to say it cannot be learned from \[the southern population\]," Conor Ryan, a marine biologist and a scientist advisor for the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust, told *The Guardian*. "It's possible that this 'fad' is leapfrogging through the various pods/communities." ## Just a Phase As for the origin of the orca behavior and the intentions behind it, scientists have several theories. It could be that this is just an apex predator's idea of having fun. Rutten himself said it was possible the orca "just wanted to play." Another prevailing theory is that this originated as an act of revenge, but [some experts]() [dispute this]() thinking. As Ryan alluded to earlier, this could simply be a behavioral "fad." How long it will stay in fashion, though, remains to be seen. **More on orcas:** *[Captain Attacked Twice by Orcas Says They're Developing Better Anti-Boat Strategies]()* ## Author At Futurism, my work has often centered on bringing a sense of clarity and insight to complex topics ranging from the regulation of emerging technologies to the esoteric ideologies of Silicon Valley executives, while striving not to lose the poetic sense of awe inspired by often-obscure fields like astrophysics and quantum computing. I broke the story of CNET using AI to produce articles that turned out to be riddled with factual errors and plagiarism — a dam-breaking inflection point, as I've reported, that's inspired copycats and endless discourse while beguiling stakeholders ranging from tech giants to purveyors of spam around the web. My work at Futurism has been cited by publications including CBS News, the Los Angeles Times, Vice, Gizmodo, Engadget, the Verge, and Vanity Fair. I grew up in locales ranging from India to China, and now live in the exotic suburbs of Virginia. In my free time, I'm an avid reader of weird sci-fi literature, an aficionado of East Asian cinema, and, regrettably, a relapsed gamer. Allegedly, I’m working on a debut novel, currently untitled. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()