1961-Built Cruise Ship Funchal Auctioned, May Be Scrapped in Turkey

The cruise ship Funchal, built in 1961 and operated in its final commercial phase by Portuscale Cruises, was auctioned this month in a Lisbon court. While one report states that a Greek shipowner won the bid, other press sources maintain that the vessel, listed at 9,845 tons by one outlet and 9,563 GT by another, will end up being scrapped in Turkey.

According to the newspaper Correio da Manhã, cited by Cruise Industry News, the new owner acquired the Funchal with a bid only slightly above the minimum price of €802,354. Splash Cruise, however, reported that the sale closed at €808,265, also above the reserve price, attributing the purchase to Turkish recyclers who had already scrapped two of the ship's former fleetmates in Aliağa.

According to Jornal de Negócios, two international companies submitted bids, with the Greek shipowner's offer coming out on top; this shipowner also owns shipyards in Greece with scrapping and repair facilities. However, the Madeira-based newspaper JM and Jornal da Madeira maintained that the final buyers are Turkish recyclers, and that the ship will be dismantled at the Aliağa shipbreaking yard, the same destination as its former fleetmates Princess Danae and Arion.

Built in Denmark in 1961 and designed by Portuguese naval architect Rogério de Oliveira, the 155-meter Funchal was originally conceived to link Lisbon with Madeira and the Azores. In 1972 she made her most memorable voyage, carrying Portuguese president Américo Tomás and the remains of Pedro I, first emperor of Brazil and king of Portugal, to Rio de Janeiro for the 150th anniversary of Brazilian independence. After a steam-to-diesel conversion in Amsterdam in 1972-73, Greek shipowner George Potamianos acquired her in 1985 and operated her for decades under Classic International Cruises, until Portuscale Cruises relaunched her in 2013; her last commercial voyage took place on January 2, 2015.

After her commercial career ended, the Funchal was the subject of several failed plans: British company Signature Living sought to convert her into a party ship in Ibiza and later into a hotel in Liverpool, while cryptocurrency entrepreneur Brock Pierce pushed a project to turn her into a five-star floating hotel in Lisbon. According to Cruise Industry News, her last owner, Teamson Lda, auctioned off the ship to settle debts amid insolvency proceedings, after the vessel had been drydocked and stripped of asbestos to prepare her as a hotel. The newspaper Jornal Económico reported that two caretakers aboard had gone 25 months without pay, and Splash Cruise anticipated that the Funchal will leave Lisbon for Turkey in the coming weeks, while another report confirmed that the ship, linked to a crypto entrepreneur, will conclude her final voyage at a Turkish ship recycling yard.