The failure of the propulsion system on the Lobo Marinho ferry has forced the suspension of regular maritime traffic between Madeira and Porto Santo, exposing the fragility of inter-island supply chains in Macaronesia. The vessel, operated by shipping company Porto Santo Line, suffered a mechanical failure on September 10 while sailing toward the port of Funchal, off the coast of Garajau. Subsequent technical assessments determined that the vessel needed to be transferred to the Canary Islands for immediate dry-docking in October.
Passenger transport will be temporarily shifted to air travel under an operational agreement with airline Binter. The airline will allocate a fixed quota of 100 seats per day on its inter-island flights—50 seats in each direction—reserved as a priority for Porto Santo residents. This emergency deployment highlights the operational reliance on the Canary Islands’ maritime and transport infrastructure to maintain territorial continuity for neighboring archipelagos during emergencies in the Atlantic.
A report prepared by technicians from German firm SCHOTTEL Industries, the manufacturer of the vessel’s propulsion system, details the fracture of a connecting rod linked to the starboard propeller shaft. The company’s engineers described the incident as unusual within the standard operating parameters for this type of commercial vessel. The absence of previous mechanical failures or signs of material fatigue supports the hypothesis that the breakdown was caused by an external impact or by a rigid object becoming entangled in the propeller, such as tires, cables or drifting ropes.
The accumulation of floating debris near Funchal’s pier, specifically on the starboard side where the ferry usually docks, has emerged as the main cause of the temporary propulsion failure. Porto Santo Line has confirmed three similar incidents aboard the Lobo Marinho caused by tires and cables becoming caught in the propeller system. The affected component will be replaced in full ahead of schedule, bringing forward a formal inspection that naval classification bodies had not planned until 2028, a decision aimed at preserving the manufacturer’s warranty coverage.
The technical impossibility of carrying out the repair work at port facilities in Madeira has forced the vessel to be diverted to the Canary Islands. The operation requires the hull to remain out of the water and completely immobilized on a dry-dock grid, thereby preventing movements of the transmission shaft that could compromise the watertight integrity of the vessel’s hydraulic seals. The availability of industrial capacity for large-draft vessels in Las Palmas Bay and the geographic proximity to the Portuguese archipelago were the decisive factors in scheduling the repairs between October 15 and 22.
The suspension of Lobo Marinho operations from October 14 to 22 will leave the island of Porto Santo without its main channel for goods supply and passenger transport. Before the vessel is dry-docked, it will continue operating under a restricted-navigation regime authorized by the merchant marine authorities, which has increased the crossing time to three hours and 15 minutes. The shipping company has established a policy of full refunds or date changes without financial penalties for customers affected by the scheduled cancellations.
The contingency plan coordinated by the shipping company and the regional government provides for the chartering of an additional container ship dedicated to transporting basic supplies and consumer goods to Porto Santo. In addition, free refrigerated storage units will be installed at the ports of origin and destination to prevent disruptions to the cold chain for shipments of perishable food. Fuel supplies and the flow of roll-on/roll-off cargo will continue to be monitored during the weeklong technical stoppage to minimize commercial shortages.
The article Ferry repairs in the Canary Islands to leave Madeira and Porto Santo without maritime service in October was first published on canarymaritime.com.
