Displaying items by tag: Strait of Gibraltar
A team of marine experts believe they have cracked the mystery of why a pod of orcas have been ramming boats in the Mediterranean in recent years.
Following one of the most recent incidents, in which a 15-metre yacht was sunk after interaction with the marine wildlife apex predators, a study on their behaviour says it’s all down to “child’s play”, as New Atlas reports.
More specifically, the International Whaling Commission report on the so-called “Gladis” pod of Iberian orcas claims that an abundance of bluefun tuna in the region’s waters means the younger cetaceans are spending less time feeding and more time playing.
And just as other orca groups around the world have been observed adopting various ‘fads’ — such as the pod off the USA’s Pacific North West coast that wore salmon ‘hats’ in the late 1980s — it appears this group have taken to bumping boats as their trend of choice in their ample free time.
The report is also at pains to emphasise that despite the havoc experienced by Mediterranean boaters, the animals really mean no harm.
“The use of such terms as ‘attack’ to describe these interactions is thus inappropriate, misleading and should cease,” it adds.
New Atlas has more on the story HERE.
A sailing yacht has been sunk in the Strait of Gibraltar in the latest of a spate of incidents involving orcas in the region.
According to RTÉ News, the 15-metre yacht Alboran Cognac was rammed by the cetaceans on Sunday morning (12 May) and began to take on water.
The yacht’s two occupants were rescued by a nearby oil tanker in waters off Morocco and the yacht was left adrift before it eventually sank.
It marks the latest in a lengthy series of interactions between the so-called “Gladis” pod of Iberian orcas and sailing vessels dating back to early 2020.
The marine wildlife apex predators have been linked to hundreds of incidents off Spain, Gibraltar, Portugal, Morocco and France — seven of them resulting in shipwrecks, as Marine Industry News reports.
Some marine science experts believe that the orcas may be getting an “adrenaline shot” and ramming vessels in a playful manner rather mounting coordinated attacks as some fear, as previously reported on Afloat.ie.
Stena Follows Scandinavian Rival to the Strait of Gibraltar As DFDS Acquired Operator FRS Iberia/Maroc
Stena Line’s recent announcement of acquiring shares in Africa Morocco Link (AML) follows another Scandinavian ferry rival, DFDS, which in January completed the process in its acquisition of a Strait of Gibraltar operator, writes Jehan Ashmore.
It was in September when Danish shipping and logistics company, DFDS announced its acquisition of FRS Iberia/Maroc. The company with a staff of 850, was a division of the German short-sea ferry company, FRS GmbH & Co. KG.
FRS had three routes running across the Strait of Gibraltar, and now DFDS can offer a new market, between Spain-Morocco through these new short-sea ferry routes. They are: Algeciras-Tanger Med, Algeciras-Ceuta, and Tarifa-Tanger Ville. This in a region where growth is expected to be supported by near-shoring of supply chains closer to Europe. In addition annual trade growth of 8% is expected between Europe and Morocco for the next five years.
The acquisition expands DFDS’ Mediterranean route network, currently connecting Europe with Turkey, Asia and Tunisia, Africa respectively.
In November of last year, DFDS passenger-freight ferry, Patria Seaways (formerly, Stena Traveller, the first ferry to serve Stena’s Dublin-Holyhead 'initial freight-only' route in 1995) was chartered by FRS, for an interim deployment on the Algeciras-Tanger Med route. The ferry has returned to this route as part of DFDS new operations between southern Spain and north Africa.
As for the agreement between Stena and AML, this is subject to approval by the Moroccan authorities, where the Tangier based AML operates a ferry route between Tanger Med-Algeciras, Spain. If approved, this would see Stena operate beyond its traditional ferry market in northern Europe by expanding into the Mediterranean Sea.
This summer, AML will also launch a new high-speed route between Tangier Ville and Tarifa. The first route is open for freight and travel customers, whereas the second one, will be a route for passengers and cars.
Afloat also highlights, should the agreement be granted, it will be full circle, as one of AML’s two-ship fleet, is the 1979 Harland & Wolff built Galloway Princess (later Stena Galloway), which serves as AML’s Moroccan Sun along with its fleetmate, Moroccan Star, the 1980 built former Danish State Railways (DSR) Rederei’s Prins Joachim.
The Galloway Princess first served Sealink/British Rail’s North Channel Larne-Stranraer and later Belfast-Cairnryan (under Stena) but ultimately became Stena Galloway following the sale of Sealink British Ferries to Stena Line in 1991. The ferry was the first of a quartet of the 'Saint' Class, but differed in design the most from the rest of the series built for other Sealink routes, including the Strait of Dover.
During its Irish Sea career, Stena Galloway in 1992 also had a stint on the Dun Laoghaire-Holyhead route, as a half-sister, Stena Cambria (ex. St.David) had major engine problems. This led to the North Channel ferry having to cover in on the Ireland-Wales route, supporting Stena Hibernia, and chartered ro-ro freighter Auersberg, owned by German operator DSR Ro Ro.
This trio of vessels on the route was due to a busy high-season coupled with a surge in freight demand, and followed the sale in the previous year of SBF's dedicated freight ferry, St. Cybi on the route.
Swedish operator Stena Line has entered into an agreement to acquire 49 percent of the shares in Morocco based ferry company Africa Morocco Link (AML).
AML is headquartered in Tangier operating a ferry route between Tanger Med – Algeciras, Spain this summer the company will also launch a new highspeed route between Tangier Ville and Tarifa. The first route is open for freight and travel customers. The second one will be a route for passengers and cars.
“We are always looking to secure new business opportunities that will make us last and be resilient in the long run. The strait of Gibraltar is a strategic location for passengers travelling between Africa and Europe as well as for global trade, and freight volumes in the area are expected to grow in the upcoming years due to the positive industrial growth and international trade in Morocco,” says Niclas Mårtensson, CEO at Stena Line.
He continues: “These routes, their ports, and the surrounding industries are under development and expected to drive a healthy freight market growth in the coming ten years. It’s a very exciting area to be able to operate in.”
The agreement is subject to approval by the Moroccan authorities.
A boat captain has shared video of the moment his vessel was ambushed by an orca in the Strait of Gibraltar, as Newsweek reports.
The footage captured by Dan Kriz documents one of a spate of attacks by orcas on vessels in the area since spring, leaving experts baffled.
It’s not the first time that Kriz has felt the wrath of such marine wildlife, as he recounts being ambushed in the same stretch of water in 2020.
But he characterises his most recent ordeal on 15 April as more deliberate.
“It didn’t take them that long to destroy both rudders,” he said. “Looks like they knew exactly what they are doing. They didn’t touch anything else.”
Marine wildlife experts are divided over this unusual behaviour, with some attributing it to mere play while others suggest it could be one vengeful orca teaching others how to attack the boats.
Newsweek has more on the story HERE.
