Ferry problems and delays today.

Armas ferry Volcan de Taburiente

Not only did the weather cause cancellations and delays over the past weekend, but the Armas ferry Volcan de Taburiente suffered ''technical problems'' as well and is not sailing at all now until further notice. Apparently a side thruster which is needed for mooring the ship to the quay has failed and there are ''electrical problems''. The Spanish-built ship serves the Los Cristianos to La Gomera and to La Palma routes is now undergoing repairs.

All the Armas passengers are switching to the Fred. Olsen Express ferry, but this is now causing long queues and delays for those sailings. If you are booked on any sailings on the above routes you're advised to contact the ferry company for further information.

As one reader of this blog commented on yesterday's post:

''...we were due to arrive on La Gomera today, Sunday. All went well except that when we arrived to get the 8.45 Armas ferry we were told that the boat was broken when we tried to board. Cue panic but we managed to get on the Fred Olsen (no help from Armas) and are now here and enjoying...''

Update Thursday Dec. 4th 2014:
The Armas ferry Volcan de Taburiente has now been repaired and has resumed regular sailings as scheduled this morning.

Two fast ferries to La Gomera - changes to schedule

Soon to sail to La Gomera: Fast ferry Alboran   (Image: Trasmediteranea)

From this Thursday, March 20th 2014, the ferry company Armas which connects San Sebastian de La Gomera with Los Cristianos on Tenerife with their ship Volcan de Taburiente, will introduce a trimaran called Alboran on the route while their regular ferry Volcan de Taburiente is undergoing the annual review and inspection. The  faster ship will directly compete with the similar Fred.Olsen-operated Benchijigua Express 

The Alboran, built by the same yard in Australia, can also do the same maximum speed as the Olsen ferry at a staggering 42 knots per hour (about 80 km/h), but normal service speed is 36 knots. At about 300 ft the Alboran is 100 ft smaller than the Benchjigua (which happens to be the largest civilian trimaran in the world), and can accommodate about 900 passengers and 265 cars. This additional Armas ferry is owned by Trasmediterranea ferries under the Acciona brand and has previously plied routes in the Mediterranean. 

The Alboran will later begin sailing the regular route to El Hierro from Tenerife with occasional stopovers in San Sebastian de La Gomera, when the Volcan de Taburiente will be back in service maintaining the previous La Gomera connection. The current El Hierro ferry Alcantara Dos, also owned by Acciona will be withdrawn from that route due to problems with reliability, etc.. 

N.B.: A revised timetable will apply from Thursday for most departures. This will be published shortly. Check ferry timetables in English by clicking button Travel + Transport beside Home above). 

The Armas ferry Volcan de Taburiente