Ferry runs aground while sailing through storm-hit waters in Canary Islands

Stormy weather caused a passenger vessel to run aground near Gran Canaria in Spain’s Canary Islands on the evening (local time) of Thursday, January 7.

The Fred Olsen Express high-speed Ro-Pax ferry Bentago Express was approaching Gran Canaria’s Port of Agaete after having sailed out of Santa Cruz de Tenerife with 57 passengers and 17 crew on board when a strong gust of wind pushed the vessel onto a shallow, rocky area near the entrance to the port.

Attempts to evacuate the passengers and crew via transfer to other vessels on Thursday evening were unsuccessful due to the low tide in the area.

The evacuation was only carried out and completed at high tide during the early morning of Friday, January 8.

Bentago Express was refloated and towed to shore later in the day on Friday. The refloating and towing effort involved three salvage vessels and three Good Samaritan fishing boats.

An underwater inspection of the ferry’s hull showed that it suffered no breaches from the grounding.

No injuries have been reported among the passengers and crew.