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Yacht vs Boat: What’s the Difference?

You may be surprised to learn that the difference between a yacht and a typical boat is not as easy to figure out as you’d think. This is thanks to the fact that there’s no specific definition for what a yacht actually is. In general, and as most people commonly use and understand these words, a yacht is a fast, often luxurious vessel used for recreational purposes. A boat, on the other hand, is typically a smaller vessel and it can have many purposes from recreation to fishing to rescue and more. 

Let’s get into some of the specific differences between yachts and boats to get a better idea of what each of these admittedly general terms is trying to refer to.

What is a Yacht?

Yacht comes from a Dutch word jaghte , itself from the word jaghtschip which means “fast pirate ship.” That gives you an idea of where people’s heads were at when yachts first came on the scene. These days, the pirate part isn’t really involved but you do tend to expect a yacht to have some speed. Not that these are necessarily speed boats all the time, but there are racing yachts out there that people use exclusively for that purpose. 

Because there is no specific definition for the word yacht in modern usage, you have to play it by ear a little bit. It’s one of those words that we all know what it means, even if we don’t have a proper, set in stone definition.

In general, and for most people, a yacht is a large recreational boat, capable of reaching high speeds and noted for its luxury and features. So what does any of that mean?

In terms of size, most people but not all would consider a yacht to be a boat that has reached at least 78 feet. Some people would acknowledge smaller vessels, as low as even 33 feet, as yachts, but this can be hotly debated even among yacht makers and yacht charter companies. 

What is a Boat?

One of the oldest words in any language, boat can be traced back through Middle English to Olde English to proto-Germanic to the proto-IndoEuropean word “bheid” where it may have originally meant “to split” or something along those lines. That would have referred to simply splitting or hollowing wood to make a boat. So, by that definition, a boat is incredibly loosely defined. 

In modern understanding a yacht is a boat but not all boats are yachts. Consider boat more of an overarching term like automobile while yacht is like an SUV. There are lots of other automobiles and SUV is just one kind.

Usually when people talk about boats today they mean smaller vessels. At some point, large boats become ships, and potentially even a yacht. Smaller boats could be anything from a fishing boat to a jon boat to a sailboat , a bass boat , catamaran , pontoon boat and more. Those boats often have very different forms and functions which allow for a heck of a lot of variety and usage.

Yacht Size vs Boat Size

As we mentioned above, people have different opinions about how big a yacht has to be. The bare minimum seems to be at least 33 feet. That said,I have even seen smaller boats called yachts but let’s say, at a minimum, any vessel under 30 feet will always be a boat of some kind and would rarely if ever be properly called a yacht.

Larger boats exist and are not yachts, of course, but these can be sport fishing boats, catamarans, even large pontoons, houseboats and more. 

Yachts can start at that low range and get up to incredible sizes which we will touch on in a moment. The largest yachts can get close to 600 feet. 

Mega Yachts vs Larger Boats

Once a yacht hits 120 feet people often call it a super yacht. There doesn’t seem to be an easy to find historical reason why 120 feet is the cut off that makes a super yacht. As yachts grew even larger, 200 feet became a sort of milestone for where a superyacht became a mega yacht. And nowadays, with even bigger yachts available, 400 feet is where the cut off often begins for yachts known as gigayachts. 

Now, when it comes to large boats, here’s where things get fuzzy. You can find sport fishing boats that are over 120 feet, or sailboats that reach the same length and much bigger. But these are often also called yachts. Sailing yachts, sport fishing yachts. So there’s a line there that boats can straddle even if, under a certain length, the same boats wouldn’t be considered yachts. 

Part of the transition from boat to yacht at large sizes comes from the fact that a massive boat is obviously expensive which means more luxury features are likely to be included which means it’s more likely to be considered a yacht.

But large commercial vessels, military and law enforcement vessels, and some search and rescue vessels used by government agencies or private companies can also reach lengths of 60 feet to 100 feet and more and these would obviously never be called yachts. It’s that key feature of being used for recreation that you need to factor in.

Yacht Engines vs Boat Engines

Obviously a sailing yacht won’t factor in here but motor yachts and hybrid yachts have very powerful engines because yachts tend to have a much higher gross tonnage than your average boat of even the same length. Keep in mind that some yachts, especially mega yachts, may have up to seven decks. You need a lot of power to keep that moving. Some of the biggest yachts in the world have a fuel tank capable of holding up to a million liters. That’s going to leave your normal outboard motors in the dust.

Boat Crew vs Yacht Crew

Yacht crews are often found wearing uniforms and have specialized training not just to run the vessel but also to see to the needs of the guests. Since yachts are often characters, the guests on board are like guests at a hotel and treated as such. Large yachts are a lot like a private cruise service.

Boats don’t always even need a crew and if a boat does have a crew it probably means the boat is a commercial vessel of some kind – think of a commercial fishing boat, for instance. 

Boat Amenities vs Yacht Amenities

Here’s a place where boats and yachts often part ways significantly. There are some pretty luxurious houseboats and pontoons and cabin cruisers out there to be sure, but when you look at what you can get on a megayacht there’s barely a comparison. 

The most expensive yachts have multiple helipads, swimming pools, tender garages that contain things like jet skis, gyms, high tech yacht electronics, massage rooms, bars, movie theaters, mini subs, discos, you name it. These really are like private cruise ships. 

Now obviously it’s not fair to compare a 12 foot jon boat to the 600 foot Azzam yacht but these are clearly as different from each other as any two things can be. Yachts are known for their luxury and they can truly push the limits sometimes. 

Yacht Locations vs Boat Locations

Smaller boats are obviously more capable of handling coastal and inland waters than any yacht you’re likely to find because that’s what they’re meant for. Yachts are typically, but not always, found in saltwater, usually around vacation destination areas like the Bahamas, the Mediterranean, Florida, tropical islands and so on. Boats are at home anywhere you find water. 

There are definitely yachts on inland lakes like the Great Lakes, but they are decidedly less common. 

Yacht Price vs Boat Price

Here’s where things get really different. You can get a little fishing boat for a few hundred dollars if you want. The Eclipse yacht cost $1.5 billion. So that’s the range we’re dealing with in terms of yachts vs boats when it comes to cost. If you try to meet in the middle with a 33 foot sport cruiser boat you might pay $200,000. But the average price for a yacht in 2021, and this means a vessel between 56 feet and 79 feet, was $1.1 million. 

The Bottom Line

All yachts are boats but not all boats are yachts. In general, a yacht is a larger vessel that is used strictly for recreational purposes. It’s defined by its speed and its luxury and is often at the higher end of the price range. You tend to find yachts in popular vacation spots and they come in at an average price over $1 million.

Boats are generally smaller vessels and can be used for everything from fishing to cruising to commercial, police boats and military purposes. They can be extremely simple and, as a result, also incredibly cheap compared to yachts as well.

My grandfather first took me fishing when I was too young to actually hold up a rod on my own. As an avid camper, hiker, and nature enthusiast I'm always looking for a new adventure.

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Boat vs. Ship vs Yacht: What’s the Difference?

Language is a tricky thing, and picking out the differences between similar terms can be confusing. This is especially true when some of the definitions overlap. This is the case with the case of boat vs. ship vs. yacht . What’s the difference? We know in our gut that there are differences between these three seafaring vessels, but unless you’re a harbor master do you really know what counts as what?

Let’s get into some definitions, and we’re going to start with the easiest to explain: What is a yacht? What is a ship? And what is a boat?

Yacht vs. Ship vs. Boat

What is a yacht.

A yacht, I think everyone would agree, is fancier than a ship or a boat. “Yacht” infers some amount of luxury , and definitely recreation. There’s also something to be said about size. A yacht tends to be anywhere between 35 feet up to 160 feet. And some yachts, known as superyachts, go even beyond that. (Jeff Bezos just built a 417 foot yacht, but that’s really breaking yacht records.)

Because of the size, yachts tend to operate in larger bodies of water–generally the ocean. Yachts are able to handle rougher ocean waves, and they are also equipped with more advanced navigation and guidance instruments than smaller boats. Likewise, a yacht tends to have a full crew to help with the navigation, engineering, repairs, as well as having stewards that serve the yacht’s guests. This can be anywhere from a crew of four or five up to a crew of a few dozen on large yachts. 

One interesting thing to note is that outside of the United States, a yacht refers to a sailboat , and a motorized yacht is called a “motor yacht”. 

So, is a yacht a boat? Yes, technically a yacht is a boat. But a yacht is a very specific kind of boat.

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What is a Ship?

The term ship is most commonly associated with a very large boat, and something that is not as fancy as a yacht (one exception is that cruise ships can still be very fancy, but are referred to as ships because of their size and power.)

Ships are generally so large that they would never be found in a lake, with some exceptions for the Great Lakes, and are made for navigating the high seas of the open ocean. An ship can refer to a cruise ship, a naval ship, a tanker, a container ship, and many other commercial vessels.

Ships tend to have advanced navigation and technology, but much more advanced than that of a yacht due to the size, the speed, and the routes that a ship will take. They are meant to be traversing the open ocean for very long periods of time, from one continent to the next, while a yacht may only rarely set across the ocean and most often stays somewhat near land. 

A ship will also have a much larger crew than a yacht or a boat. Ships are typically so large that they need not only one trained navigator but a set of navigators, plus an entire engineering team, and includes many more positions. 

Finally, a ship is meant to carry things. This may be passengers, yes (in reference to cruise ships and some navy ships) but most ships are for carrying cargo–or even carrying equipment to do work on other ships including repair work or refueling. 

What is a Boat?

Well, a boat is harder to define, because a yacht is technically a boat, and a ship is technically a boat. But when people refer to boats, they are almost always referring to something smaller than either a yacht or a ship. Boats may be motorized, like a speed boat, or they may sail, or they may be man-powered, like a rowboat or a kayak. Really, anything up to and including a liferaft, can be called a boat.

(As a side note that will just muddy the waters even further, submarine captains are adamant that their subs are boats. They are not ships.)

So, Boat vs. Ship Vs. Yacht?

Ultimately it comes down to this: all three of them are boats, but yachts are fancier, larger, and used for recreation, and ships are even larger, used commercially or by the navy, and are meant to cross oceans. The dividing line is sometimes thin, but generally speaking, when it comes to boats vs. ships.vs. yachts you can go by the adage “ I know it when I see it .”

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Orcas Sink Another Boat Near Iberia, Worrying Sailors Before Summer

Two people were rescued on Sunday after orcas damaged their boat near the Strait of Gibraltar, where the animals have caused havoc in recent years.

By Isabella Kwai

Summer is on the way, meaning that the orcas are out to play near the Strait of Gibraltar — which is bad news for sailors.

Two people were rescued on Sunday after an attack by a group of orcas caused enough damage to sink their boat, according to the Spanish maritime rescue service. It was the fifth such sinking in waters off the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa in recent years.

The Alboran Cognac, a sailing yacht about 50 feet long, was approached by the animals on Sunday morning, some 14 miles off Cape Spartel in Morocco, the rescue service said. Crew members onboard reported that the animals had slammed the hull, damaged the rudder and caused a leak.

A nearby oil tanker quickly maneuvered toward the boat and evacuated the two sailors, who were taken to Gibraltar, the rescue service said. The boat was left adrift, and the Moroccan authorities reported that it eventually sank.

It’s the first boat to sink in those waters this year after an orca-related mishap. A group of orcas that traverse the Strait of Gibraltar and nearby waters has plagued sailors and intrigued marine biologists , who are studying the population. Since 2020, orcas have disrupted dozens of sailing journeys in these high-traffic waters, in some cases slamming vessels hard enough to cause critical damage.

Last November, orcas slammed a yacht’s rudder for 45 minutes, causing its crew to abandon the vessel, which sank near the Tanger Med port.

The group is more likely to appear in the busy lanes around the Gulf of Cadiz and the Strait of Gibraltar between April and August, the Spanish government said in a news release, and sailors have spotted some of the orcas there in recent weeks.

Researchers do not know why the pod is targeting boats, but they have theorized that the behavior is a form of play for the curious apex predators. The interactions have become so frequent that they are now a multinational issue, involving scientists and officials from Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Online, anxious sailors have gathered to share advice on navigating “orca alley,” and biologists are tracking the orcas’ movements and testing methods that could deter them.

In the event of an orca encounter, the government advised in its release, boats should not stop but instead head toward shallower waters near the coast.

But the number of incidents may be declining: Researchers at the Atlantic Orca Working Group said on Monday that the number of orca interactions with boats between January and May had dropped some 40 percent, compared with that of similar periods in the past three years.

Isabella Kwai is a Times reporter based in London, covering breaking news and other trends. More about Isabella Kwai

Orcas again sink yacht near Strait of Gibraltar as high-risk season looms

Two people were rescued after orcas hit the roughly 50-foot Alboran Cognac 14 miles off the coast of Morocco, the 26th orca encounter in the region this year.

The boat-sinking orcas are back.

Around 9 a.m. Sunday near the Strait of Gibraltar, two people on board the roughly 50-foot Alboran Cognac reported blows to the vessel’s hull and saw damage to the rudder as water flowed into the ship, Spain’s maritime rescue agency said.

An unknown number of killer whales had struck again, after hundreds of such encounters in recent years.

Over the radio, responders told the two individuals to put on their life jackets, make sure their GPS locaters were turned on and prepare for emergency evacuation. In the meantime, Spanish and Moroccan rescue agencies began urgently working to save them, locating a nearby oil tanker and electing not to dispatch a helicopter.

After about an hour, that tanker rescued the pair 14 miles off Cape Spartel in northern Morocco, the Spanish Maritime Safety and Rescue Agency (SASEMAR) said in a news release. The boat was left adrift and soon sank.

Spain-based Alboran Charter confirmed its ownership of the sunken vessel and said the individuals were customers. The company declined to say more about what happened or who the clients were.

Iberian orcas sinking a ship is not new. Over the past four years, at least 15 orcas have interacted with hundreds of boats sailing in the waters off Portugal, Spain and Morocco, sinking a handful of vessels in seemingly coordinated ambushes. Some ships have been found with teeth marks; others appear to have been rammed by an orca’s head or body.

On average, there have been 168 interactions each year since 2020, according to Grupo de Trabajo Orca Atlántica, or GTOA, a research group studying the region’s killer whales. GTOA has tracked 26 interactions so far this year, down from 61 through a similar time frame in 2023.

It’s not clear why the orcas have recently bumped, bitten and sank vessels. Some scientists say they are simply being playful, or maybe are curious, or perhaps are coming after boats because of a loss of prey. A handful say the actions could actually be gratifying to the whales.

A leading theory, though, is one of vengeance.

This idea, advanced by a scientist who has studied the encounters, posits that a female orca suffered a traumatic run-in with a boat that led her to start attacking the vessels. And because orcas are intelligent marine mammals that learn behaviors like hunting together, others followed.

But there is disagreement over this theory.

Some scientists argue that the incidents shouldn’t be called “attacks” without knowing the whales’ motives. They fear that label could prompt retaliation by boaters, calling it potentially “harmful” to the critically endangered species with just a few dozen members.

“Science cannot yet explain why the Iberian orcas are doing this, although we repeat that it is more likely related to play/socialising than aggression,” a group of more than 30 scientists wrote in an open letter last summer. “ … When we are at sea, we are in the realm of marine life. We should not punish wildlife for being wild.”

The letter explained that orcas have been observed developing “cultural ‘fads,’” including carrying dead fish on their heads, and the incidents with the boats may be nothing more than a “fashion trend.”

SASEMAR warned that the risk of the encounters is highest between May and August, recommending that boats avoid the area between the Strait of Gibraltar to the Gulf of Cádiz to its west. It added that if a boat comes across orcas, it should not stop moving, and instead should head toward the coast and shallower waters. People should not approach the side of the boat and are barred from using measures that could injure or kill the whales.

“It is possible the behaviour, as previous fads have,” the scientists wrote, “will disappear as suddenly as it appeared.”

Orcas Sink 50-Foot Yacht Off the Coast of Morocco

T he boat-ramming orcas are back in action: Two people had to be rescued from a sailing yacht in the Strait of Gibraltar after the black-and-white marine mammals damaged the vessel so badly it later sank, reporters Reuters ’ David Latona.

The incident occurred around 9 a.m. local time Sunday, some 14 miles north of Cape Spartel in northern Morocco. Passengers aboard the 50-foot Alboran Cognac felt blows to the yacht’s hull and saw that the rudder had been damaged. As water began leaking onto the ship, they contacted the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center in Tarifa, Spain, which directed them to prepare for an emergency rescue.

About an hour later, a nearby oil tanker picked up the two crew members, who were customers of Spain-based Alboran Charter , which owns the yacht, reports the Washington Post ’s Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff.

The boat took on more water and sank soon after. It’s not clear how many orcas targeted the vessel.

The sinking of the Alboran Cognac is the latest in a string of incidents involving orcas and ships in the Strait of Gibraltar. The highly intelligent, social marine mammals made headlines last spring , when they sank a Swiss yacht called Champagne off the coast of Spain. In November, they brought down another ship , a Polish sailing yacht called the Grazie Mamma .

But the animals’ unusual behavior goes back even further: Since 2020, mariners have reported 700 interactions between orcas and ships in the Strait of Gibraltar, per Reuters. The Alboran Cognac is the fifth vessel orcas have sunk in the last three years, reports Live Science ’s Harry Baker.

Most of the incidents have been recorded in the Strait of Gibraltar, a waterway linking the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The strait, which is bordered by Morocco to the south and by Spain to the north, is home to a distinct—and critically endangered —subpopulation of fewer than 50 orcas .

However, last June, orcas also rammed into a ship in the North Sea between Scotland and Norway, roughly 2,000 miles away from the Strait of Gibraltar. Scientists weren’t quite sure what to make of that incident, which raised the possibility that the destructive behavior was spreading to different groups of orcas.

In the meantime, authorities are urging mariners in the Strait of Gibraltar to exercise caution this summer. Spain’s Maritime Safety and Rescue Society recommends avoiding a large area between the Gulf of Cádiz and the Strait of Gibraltar; the agency also suggests that mariners sail as close to the coast as possible, especially from May to August, when orcas are more likely to be in the region.

If sailors do encounter orcas, the agency recommends they keep the vessel moving and head toward shallower waters. People onboard the ship should remain in the middle of the vessel and not approach the sides, where they may be at risk of falling overboard.

The agency also asked mariners to notify authorities of any orca encounters and, if possible, to take photographs of the creatures for identification.

Scientists remain puzzled by the orcas’ destructive behavior. A leading hypothesis is that a female nicknamed “White Gladis” started ramming into ships after having some sort of traumatic run-in with a vessel; she may also have been pregnant when she first started targeting ships. Since orcas are social creatures, other members of White Gladis’ group may have simply followed her lead and mimicked her actions.

“The idea of revenge is a great story, but there’s no evidence for it,” said Lori Marino , a neuroscientist and the founder and president of the Whale Sanctuary Project, to BBC Newsbeat ’s Shaun Dacosta last year.

Another possibility is that the orcas are curious about ships, or maybe, they’re just having fun.

“They’re probably socializing, yucking it up with each other about their adventures without realizing the terror they’re creating in their moments of joy,” said Andrew Trites , a marine mammal researcher at the University of British Columbia in Canada, to Business Insider ’s Erin Heger last summer.

Orcas have also been known to temporarily exhibit other unusual behaviors, like placing dead salmon atop their heads. The boat-ramming behavior may be another, similarly short-lived fad that the Strait of Gibraltar orcas will eventually move on from.

And they may already be doing just that: Between January and May 2024, the number of reported interactions with orcas was 65 percent lower than during the same period in 2023 and 40 percent lower than the average for those months across 2021, 2022 and 2023, according to the Atlantic Orca Working Group .

Whatever the orcas’ motivations, scientists have urged onlookers to avoid assigning human emotions to the animals’ behaviors. Though the boat-ramming killer whales have given rise to internet memes and merchandise that suggests they’re plotting an “ orca uprising ,” researchers argue that the marine mammals are not acting with malicious intent.

Orcas sink boat with two passengers on board in Strait of Gibraltar

Orcas attacked and sank a boat in the Strait of Gibraltar, prompting Spanish officials to issue a warning to sailors in case they ever encounter one of the giant sea mammals.

On Sunday, orcas sank a 10-meter-long boat with two passengers on board. The passengers, who were able to notify authorities in time, were rescued after receiving help from a nearby oil tanker and Moroccan authorities, states Salvamento Marítimo , Spain’s maritime rescue service, in a press release.

The boat sank near Cape Spartel, a promontory in Morocco near the entrance of the Strait of Gibraltar, a channel that connects the Mediterranean Sea  to the  Atlantic Ocean between Spain and Africa.

The country's Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility prepared a list of things to do in case boats or yachts meet a pack of killer whales at the wrong place and at the wrong time.

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How to handle an orca encounter

According to the agency , people who encounter orcas while on a vessel should do the following:

• Don't go near the side of the boat. Move to a space in the middle of the vessel where they're protected from sudden movements.
• If the whales try interacting with the boat, don't stop the boat or turn off the motor. Move towards the coast or shallower waters.
• Report the event to officials, even if the boat doesn't take damage.

Why are whales attacking marine vessels?

For the past four years, hundreds of incidents have occurred between orcas and boats or yachts.

And interactions still remain a mystery, Alfredo López, a University of Santiago biologist, previously told USA TODAY.

However, the whales' reasoning for the attacks could be as innocent as playful curiosity or as nefarious as targeting the vessels they perceive as competition for food.

Graphics: Why are orcas attacking boats and sometimes sinking them?

Contributing: Ramon Padilla , USA TODAY

Julia is a trending reporter for USA TODAY. She has covered various topics, from local businesses and government in her hometown, Miami, to tech and pop culture.   You can follow her on  X, formerly Twitter ,  Instagram  and  TikTok : @juliamariegz

Man gets realistic picture of his boat painted on a fence intended to hide it

A California man who was ordered to keep his boat out of sight has had the last laugh by commissioning an artist to paint a realistic image of it on the fence that obscures it.

Local government officials told Etienne Constable, of Seaside, California, in July that he had to build a 6-foot fence to hide the boat from view of his neighbors.

In a light-hearted jibe at officialdom, Constable decided to follow the directive, which said nothing about how the fence should be decorated, and asked local artist Hanif Panni to create a mural that makes it look as if the fence isn't there.

"I’m not a rule-breaker, but I like to make a political statement as necessary, as well as a humorous statement and a creative statement," he told NBC affiliate KSBW of Monterey Bay .

He is yet to have had any contact from the city about the mural — but he said he considers it to be covered by the right to freedom of expression as enshrined in the First Amendment.

"The reaction is extremely more than we ever expected, and we’re both just tickled about it," Constable said, referring to the stir the image has made on social media, where it has been shared many times.

Panni, who paints images across the Central Coast area, told KSBW: "I’m a big proponent of public art in spaces. It engages people in ways that reaching out and having conversations doesn’t sometimes."

And Panni added that since the Seaside boat mural has gone viral, other boat owners have approached him to see whether he can do the same for them.

Patrick Smith is a London-based editor and reporter for NBC News Digital.

Boats still aren't safe from orcas as the Mediterranean yachting season kicks off and killer whales sink another yacht

• Killer whales took down another yacht on Monday as the Mediterranean yachting season begins.
• It's the latest incident of orcas clashing with boats, which has been on the rise in recent years.
• Marine biologists say the orcas are likely playing and may be learning the behavior from each other.

The Mediterranean yachting season has kicked off for the summer — and it didn't take long for another yacht to fall victim to a killer whale encounter .

A group of orcas sank a 50-foot sailing yacht in Moroccan waters on Sunday in the latest of several similar incidents involving the highly social species that have occurred over the past four years.

An unknown number of orcas were involved in the incident, which took place in the Strait of Gibraltar, Spain's maritime rescue service said Monday, according to Reuters .

Related stories

The incident is the most recent in a spate of bizarre orca encounters with boats that have been on the rise in recent years, primarily in Mediterranean waters south of Spain, where many yachts cruise during the summer months.

Two passengers were on board the Alboran Cognac around 9 a.m. local time on Sunday when they felt sudden hits to the hull and rudder, Reuters reported, citing the maritime service. Water soon started to pour into the yacht.

A nearby oil tanker came to the people's rescue, saving them from the waterlogged ship and delivering them to land.

But the yacht wasn't as lucky. The Alboran Cognac stayed adrift for a time until it ultimately sank.

Since 2020, hundreds of similar encounters between boats and orcas have been documented off the southern coasts of Spain and Portugal, often near the Strait of Gibraltar. And it's not just yachts. The orcas have also rammed into sailboats, and some mariners have even created heavy-metal playlists in hopes of deterring the killer whales — though experts say it'll do little to help .

Researchers say the clashes typically follow a similar pattern, with a killer whale repeatedly ramming into the rudder of a ship, often until it breaks and the boat is stranded. Most of the time, the ships are able to escape with minimal damage, but several boats have sunk .

While the so-called orca "attacks" may appear violent, marine biologists have said it's unlikely the encounters are actually malicious. Several experts told Business Insider last year that the orcas are probably just playing .

Andrew Trites, director of the Marine Mammal Research Unit at the University of British Columbia in Canada, said ramming into the boats may simply be a "playful activity that's gotten way out of hand."

Researchers have also said the killer whales may be learning the behavior from each other through simple imitation.

Watch: Billionaire's $20 million plan to send orca home after 50 years in captivity

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