The leading theory is that a female orca suffered a traumatic incident with a boat — a “critical moment of agony” — that caused her to start attacking the vessels, Alfredo López Fernandez, a marine biologist at the University of Aveiro in Portugal, told the industry publication Live Science.

Revenge of the killer whales? Recent boat attacks might be driven by trauma

Delivery skipper Dan Kriz, who had to be towed into port after orcas destroyed the rudder on a boat he was on in 2020, had an almost identical experience in April.

"My first reaction was, 'Please! Not again,'" Kriz told Newsweek.