Tailors bound for the orca interaction hotspots of the Strait of Gibraltar and the Iberian Peninsula can feel reassured that their insurance cover will not be in jeopardy.
Since the launch of its orca project in June 2022, the Cruising Association (CA) has received 154 reports of interactions–mainly bumping or ramming the hulls of small yachts and damaging rudders.
The hotspots follow the migration of tuna exiting the Mediterranean from the Strait of Gibraltar and heading west and north around the Iberian Peninsula. Of the ‘eventful passages’, 38 yachts (24.7%) required extensive repair; 59 (38.3%) moderate repair; 12 yachts (7.8%) needed minor repair; 45 (29.2%) none at all. Some 33 yachts required a tow (21.7%) while 119 (78.3%) did not. This compared to 326 ‘uneventful passages’, of which only 11 yachts saw any orca.
The CA is collaborating with Grupo Trabajo Orca Atlantica– a group of Portuguese and Spanish scientists. After three years of study, it is still not known why some 15 orcas from a population of less than 50 are displaying this behaviour and legal means of deterring or minimising interactions are required (www.pbo.co.uk/ orca_advice).
However, insurance companies contacted by PBO have confirmed that there are currently no clauses being introduced to deter sailors from sailing near Spain and Portugal The Stoneways team said:
“We have no intention of excluding a fairly wellestablished peril of the sea such as collision with a mammal. In addition,
