The Fred Olsen ferry, Bonanza Express, which ran aground in Tenerife on Wednesday, was successfully re-floated in the early hours of this morning and is safely berthed in Los Cristianos harbour.
Maritime officials said that 250 specialised staff had taken part in the difficult task of pulling the ferry free in what they described as, “naval microsurgery”.
The high-speed catamaran ran aground at around 8pm on Wednesday as she tried to dock, in what is now believed to be the result of a failure of the gearing system, which meant the ship could not reverse.
In order to re-float the craft, the company commandeered a second ferry which, in a tricky manoeuvre, backed up to the stricken vessel and unloaded the cars that were still on board so as to lighten the load.
The Bonanza was then able to be towed by tugboats into harbour where, after an initial inspection, she will be taken to a shipyard in Las Palmas for repairs.
Marine authorities in Tenerife have initiated an investigation into the incident which will include statements from the crew and the recovery of data from the ship’s equivalent of an airplane’s black box.
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