The National Maritime Authority alerts navigators to the precautions to be taken and what to do in case of interaction or sighting of orcas, which can occur off the Portuguese coast.
The Maritime Authority explains that `the interaction with these mammals occurs mainly "due to the curious behavior of juvenile orcas", which are "attracted by the moving and noisy structures of vessels, such as the rudder and propeller", and "may approach excessively of vessels and hit mobile structures, with a probability of total or partial failure of the rudder'.
Thus, in case of sighting of these mammals, the National Maritime Authority and the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF) recommend that all mariners turn off the engine, "in order to inhibit the rotation of the propeller", and immobilize the rudder door, «thus discouraging these mammals to interact with the mobile structures of the vessels».
This warning comes after at least four cases of collisions by small sailboats, by orcas, off the Alentejo coast have been registered.
Even today, Correio da Manhã reports the case of three crew members of a French sailboat, who were rescued this Saturday, off the coast of Sines, after the vessel was collided by a group of orcas, confirmed the Police Maritime from Sines.
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