Figueira da Foz, Coimbra, Portugal, Jan. 26, 2026 (Lusa) - A cargo ship is adrift off the coast of Figueira da Foz in central Portugal, and is at risk of sinking after losing its rudder, allegedly due to hitting the seabed due to sand accumulation, according to a port source.
Speaking to the Lusa news agency at 10:50 a.m. on Monday, Paulo Mariano, vice-president of the Figueira da Foz port community, explained that the Dutch-flagged general cargo ship Eikborg is without controls, without a rudder and adrift, sailing only to stay afloat, in reverse, while waiting for tugboats that will have to travel from the port of Leixões, as there are none in Figueira da Foz or Aveiro.
"The ship is without a rudder. At the moment, it is adrift. It is trying to maintain some course, sailing backwards, which is counterproductive, but it is the only solution he [the captain] has to try to control the ship until someone comes to the rescue," said Paulo Mariano.
He described the situation as "the storm of storms," warning of the danger of the 89-metre cargo ship sinking, with the expected worsening of sea conditions: "Because if it starts taking on water in the engine room, it is likely to sink. We are on the verge, and I am not exaggerating, of a tragedy," he warned.
The port community official said that the cargo ship, which has a draught of 5.5 metres - according to the Marine Traffic website, consulted by Lusa - hit the bottom of the navigation channel as it left the bar, due to the accumulation of sand in that location.
The Figueira da Foz bar is closed to vessels less than 35 metres in length - which would allow cargo ships to enter and leave - but, according to Paulo Mariano, in practice it is closed to all navigation after the Ekborg hit the bottom when leaving, loaded with cellulose cargo from the Altri group, the second such situation in two months.
"And there are more ships here to leave, and the pilots [who guide the ships in and out of the commercial port] say they don't know what the bar is like and aren't moving anything," he stressed.
"Therefore, the port of Figueira da Foz has closed. The port that served the economy of the Central Region has closed. This is a matter, as they used to say in the old days, of harming the country," he argued.
Paulo Mariano also said that the Figueira da Foz bar has never had as much sand accumulated as it does now, blaming the situation on the dredging of three million cubic metres of sand from north to south, carried out by the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), and demanding the intervention of the public prosecutor's office.
According to the Marine Traffic website, the Ekborg is off the Figueira da Foz bar, without command, sailing at a speed of half a knot (less than 1 km per hour).
JLS/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
