“Thor” was removed from Praia Grande in Ferragudo on Sunday
The last and largest of four boats which were stranded at Ferragudo’s Praia Grande in Lagoa was finally removed from the beach on Sunday morning.
“Operation completed successfully. There are no longer any boats at Praia Grande in Ferragudo, which posed a safety hazard and affected beach activities,” Lagoa mayor Luís Encarnação told Lusa news agency.
The operation to remove “Thor”, a 35-metre long pleasure craft, was accompanied by maritime police in Portimão, the National Maritime Authority (AMN) said in a statement, making sure that all safety requirements were followed during the excavation works and the towing process.
“Thor” remained as the only boat still beached at Praia Grande after the three smaller vessels were removed on Tuesday, April 2.
A private company was hired by the local council to remove the 7.90-metre vessel “Lady Stray” and the 9-metre vessel “Bitten,” believed to be Swedish, whose owners could not be identified. Meanwhile, the removal of the 11-metre vessel “RAN” was requested by the owner and carried out in the same operation.
“Lady Stray” had been stranded on the beach since October 2023, while “RAN” and “Thor” ran aground on the same day in January 2024 and “Bitten” joined the fold just last week, all due to bad weather and rough seas. The vessels had become something of an unofficial attraction, with several people visiting the beach to get a closer look at the stranded boats, although many also criticised the delayed removal of the boats with summer quickly approaching.
