September 12, 2026, 11:07 am | Read time: 4 minutes
It sounds like a scene from “Jaws”: In the middle of the Coral Sea in 2023, sharks attacked a nine-meter-long inflatable catamaran so fiercely that both hulls were severely damaged, putting the three men on board in distress. This extraordinary case raises a question that goes far beyond this incident: Why do sharks attack boats at all, and how dangerous can it become? PETBOOK spoke with scientist and shark expert Dr. Iris Ziegler from “Sharkproject International” about it.
Why Do Sharks Attack Boats?
About 835 kilometers southeast of their destination, Cairns, the “Tion” issued a distress call to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (Amsa) in September 2023, as the boat was in danger of capsizing. With the help of a cargo ship and an aircraft, the three sailors were eventually rescued. According to their accounts, sharks had repeatedly attacked the catamaran and torn off parts of the hull.1
Such extraordinary incidents occurring years later are shown by a case from southern Italy: In April 2026, an injured shortfin mako shark reportedly rammed a motorboat off Gallipoli. According to eyewitnesses, the impact was so strong that the entire boat vibrated.2 This incident was also considered extremely unusual. But what causes sharks to collide with or seemingly attack boats?
Scientist and shark expert Dr. Iris Ziegler explained to PETBOOK about the Coral Sea case: “That this ‘attack’ happened is really very unusual. It’s not typical behavior.” Due to the limited information available at the time, it was not possible to determine which species of shark was involved or how many animals were involved.
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“This Doesn’t Fit at All with What We Otherwise Know”
What can be said is that they must have been larger oceanic sharks. Only then could such damage occur, the expert explains about the 2023 incident in a conversation with PETBOOK. “Theoretically, they could have been silky sharks or mako sharks, as they are definitely found there, but they are not known for such behavior. It is indeed extremely unusual for a shark to attack a catamaran–especially repeatedly.” There must have been some special circumstances, Ziegler suspects. “Intuitively, I would say there was some food in the water that must have attracted them, which is why they approached the boat.”
It could have been fish waste, or perhaps fishing was taking place. “And then something might have been thrown in that attracted them and then caused the irritation that led them to bite into this catamaran. It’s not surprising that the chambers are destroyed when they bite into them.”
Much more surprising is that the sea creatures bit into the boat at all, and even multiple times. “That a shark bites into something it doesn’t know, which makes it curious. Yes, that happens. That’s a completely normal behavior because they have to find out what’s there. But for it to happen multiple times is very unusual. There must have been something involved that we don’t quite understand.”
“In My Opinion, That’s Negligent!”
Additionally, the scientist expressed surprise to PETBOOK about another aspect: “In my opinion, it’s negligent to cross the open ocean with such a vessel because anything can happen with such unstable constructions. If even a shark can bite through it, then if it runs aground somewhere, the same thing can happen.”
After all, one must not forget that being on the open sea is being in the wild. Too often, people are not aware of the associated dangers. “It’s the wilderness, and I have to be prepared for anything. We’ve lost that awareness. We view everything as a kind of amusement park,” she concludes with a warning. She also finds it strange that the sailors didn’t issue a distress call after the first shark attack. “It’s all a bit strange.”
It is definitely an isolated case, the expert assures. She has never heard of anything like it. What does happen is that sharks like the mako or thresher shark, when caught and hanging on the line, fight for their lives. It can happen that they attack the boat in a death struggle and even jump onto the boat. That’s known, but multiple attacks without reason are very unusual. That’s why she is also disturbed by the often sensationalist reporting on this incident. The animals are portrayed in a completely wrong light because “it’s not the sharks’ fault.”