June 26, 2024

AndronETalksNews

AndronETalksNews

Orca rams into yacht off Shetland in first such incident in northern waters

The Guardian

By Philip Hoare and Jeroen Hoekendijk

June 21, 2023

An orca repeatedly rammed a yacht in the North Sea off Shetland on Monday, in a concerning development following previous interactions between the cetaceans and vessels in the strait of Gibraltar and Portugal.

Dr Wim Rutten, a 72-year-old retired Dutch physicist and experienced yachtsperson, was sailing solo from Lerwick to Bergen in Norway. He was fishing for mackerel, with a single line off the back of the boat, when the orca suddenly appeared in the clear water, and hit the stern of the seven-ton boat.

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