The Assalama ship of Naviera Armas, which inaugurated the route between Fuerteventura and Tarfaya last December, is currently on a sandbank one kilometer from the African coast after suffering a 'touch' on the lower part of the ferry last Wednesday. The ship is now in the hands of the insurance company, which will decide whether to refloat it or not, while the 113 passengers are being transferred by plane to their destinations.
The poor sea conditions and strong wind were, in principle, the causes of the Assalama accident, which sometimes had difficulties maneuvering in a small port like Tarfaya.
The Head of Communication of Naviera Armas, Manuel Vidal, reported this Friday that the ship registered last Wednesday a "precautionary breakdown that could be solved" when leaving Tarfaya for Fuerteventura. "A tugboat from the area was brought in, not very powerful, and the divers had difficulties working. A tugboat was requested from Lanzarote, but the ship made an unexpected list that could endanger its buoyancy and it was then decided to abandon the ship".
The Assalama was traveling with 113 passengers on board. During this Friday, the transfer of 70 passengers to Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and Gran Canaria is being managed. Diana Báez, Marketing Manager of Armas, explained that the shipping company is taking care of the transfer, accommodation and food expenses of the passengers both in El Aaiun and in the Canary Islands. A total of 9 passengers flew on Thursday afternoon from El Aaiun to Gran Canaria. On the night of that day, Naviera Armas chartered a Binter Canarias plane with 72 seats "but only 25 people wanted to fly", says Báez. The rest preferred to stay in hotels in El Aaiun.
Those who traveled to Gran Canaria stayed in a hotel in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and are being transferred to Fuerteventura, Lanzarote and Tenerife South. As for the people who stayed in El Aaiun, Diana Báez says that "the ticket will be bought for all those who want to come".
The "Assalama" is a ferry of 102 meters in length, 18.5 meters in beam and 4.90 meters in draft. It has 510 seats for passengers (29 double cabins), 350 linear meters of cargo (160 cars), lounges, bar, swimming pool and self service. This ship, the last of the old ones of the shipping company, was renovated for three months in the shipyards of Ferrol.
It is unknown what the future of the Tarfaya-Fuerteventura line of Naviera Armas will be. However, the company is considering bringing forward the Lanzarote-Agadir service to before the summer, as Manolo Vidal pointed out. In fact, this Thursday a new ship arrived in Tenerife, the Volcán de Tijarafe, with a capacity of one thousand passengers and 650 cars, that is, similar to the Volcán de Tamadaba that will soon link Lanzarote with Agadir.
