The port of Gran Tarajal, in the municipality of Tuineje (Fuerteventura), has resumed operations at its breakwater. The public company Puertos Canarios, operating under the name Ecopuertos Autonómicos de Canarias, carried out the final work this weekend to completely remove the Conquistador Pirata. The operation clears one of the port facility’s ramps, which has been unavailable for use by other vessels since 2022.
The sailboat, originally launched in 1918 and converted into a pleasure vessel in the 1970s, had caused concern and safety problems among port operators. The court ordered the case to be provisionally dismissed and closed on April 8, 2026. On July 21, 2026, the Directorate-General for Culture and Heritage of the Government of the Canary Islands submitted a technical report detailing the elements with heritage value that were required to be preserved: a Hall-type anchor with part of its chain, the hawse pipes with a section of the bow structure, the windlass, the figurehead and part of the stem.
The head of the regional entity, José Gilberto Moreno, led the on-site technical inspection alongside inspectors from the Government of the Canary Islands. The operation is expected to culminate in the definitive removal of all the remains at the beginning of next week, bringing a complex intervention to a close, with thanks expressed for the involvement of the Fuerteventura Island Council, the judicial authorities and the Cultural Heritage department. In 2015, the vessel was part of the island’s tourist offering, as can be seen in social media videos.
The Department of Public Works, Housing and Mobility declared the operation an emergency in July 2022. The Harbour Master’s Office had previously issued a report warning of the imminent danger that the vessel could sink at its berth. The work was 75% complete before it was halted on August 29, 2022, when Court of First Instance and Preliminary Investigation No. 6 of Puerto del Rosario opened preliminary proceedings to investigate a possible offence against the historic heritage and determine responsibility for the vessel’s preservation.
During the judicial suspension, the remains stayed stranded on the port ramp. The accumulation of assorted materials, predominantly wood, posed a constant risk of fire and of waste spilling into the water, factors that justified maintaining the emergency status of the intervention.
The article Video: Puertos Canarios removes 1918 sailboat mired in Fuerteventura court proceedings was first published on canarymaritime.com.
