Praia, Dec. 22, 2025 (Lusa) - The Pentalina B has been shipwrecked for eleven and a half years near Moia Moia, on the east coast of the island of Santiago, Cabo Verde, and the population has become accustomed to living with the wrecked ship and the curious visitors.
"People come here and ask: where is the Pentalina? We show them the way, they take photographs, and artists have even come to make videos,‘ explains Flávio Carvalho, 29, a resident of the village who works in agriculture and construction.
Residents also often stroll around the wreck: ’We go there, we go inside, we walk around the ship, we swim in the sea next to it, we have picnics. For us, it can stay there because it attracts many tourists.‘ ’People come here because they saw it on the Internet and tell each other about it,‘ he describes.
But Flávio acknowledges that, over the years, rust, corrosion, and the hull torn off by unknown individuals have made the Pentalina ’more dangerous because it is falling apart."
From the village to the boat, the journey takes about 10 minutes by car, in off-road mode, or about half an hour on foot.
Those who live there, like Vanilson, a 15-year-old boy on his bicycle, know how to avoid ditches and other surprises.
Today, he is leading the way.
After the last bend, the Pentalina comes into view: a giant hull, 74 metres long and 13 metres wide, with decks that once accommodated passengers and large areas for cargo and vehicles.
Records available on the Internet show that the ship was built in Scotland in the 1970s, where it served as a ferry between several islands until it was replaced and sold to a company that provided inter-island connections in Cabo Verde.
On one of these connections, on 5 June 2014, as it was approaching the capital, Praia, the ship ran aground during the night at the location where it is today.
It was carrying cargo and 85 people on board, all of whom were rescued from the vessel after a terrible scare, with a loud bang in the darkness that tilted the ship. This episode has been recounted in various publications over time.
Maria Moreira, 69, a resident of Moia Moia, remembers that night well.
‘A man who lives at the edge of the village warned us. We found people crying with children. Those who could, started jumping. We brought clothes and gave support’ until ‘help arrived from the city of Praia,’ she recalls.
After the shipwreck, a road and a ramp were improvised from the site's earth and stones to remove all the cargo. Internet applications using historical satellite images show the evolution of the site.
The local media reported on efforts to remove, repair and put the Pentalina B back into service, but what is visible are corroded wreckage and large pieces of torn metal – recent cuts that did not appear in videos posted on YouTube in 2021, for example.
On the night of the shipwreck, ‘we helped people get out, there were a lot of people,’ recalls João Fonseca, 59.
‘At the time, they should have removed it from there,’ but now it doesn't matter, he says: ‘From time to time, people come to take pictures, and we also go there to fish, to see how it is.’
A Spanish couple approaches the boat. They left their car in the village and walked, accompanied by someone they met online who knew the way to Pentalina.
"We are spending a week on the island of Santiago, looking for places that are not overrun with tourists, and we saw this one on the Internet. It seems very interesting to us, especially because of the landscape. It's amazing to be here alone,‘ says Rodrigo Vasquez.
’We're going to get as close as possible," says the 24-year-old, on his way to Pentalina.
Lusa tried to obtain additional information about the ship's situation from Cabo Verde's authorities, namely through the Maritime Port Institute (IMP), but received no response.
LFO/ADB // ADB.
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