Funchal, Madeira Island, Portugal, Jan. 2, 2026 (Lusa) - The voyages of the Lobo Marinho ship, which provides ferry connections between the Portuguese islands of Madeira and Porto Santo, scheduled for Saturday, have been cancelled due to bad weather in the archipelago, according to the ferry operator.

Porto Santo Line decided, for the second consecutive day, not to operate the service because the safety conditions for the ship and passengers were not met. The ship was scheduled to depart from Funchal at 8:00 a.m. and return from Porto Santo at 6:00 p.m.

The Lobo Marinho will make its last trip on Monday before its annual maintenance, leaving the islands of Madeira and Porto Santo without regular sea connections for about five weeks.

The Madeira archipelago will be under severe weather warnings until Saturday due to the passage of the Francis depression, with heavy rain, wind and rough seas, according to Portugal's national meteorological institute (IPMA), with adverse weather conditions affecting the region since the afternoon of Wednesday, 31 December.

The national meteorological institute has placed the north coast, the mountainous regions of Madeira and the island of Porto Santo under an orange warning due to forecasts of rough seas until noon on Saturday.

The Funchal Port Authority has already extended the bad weather warnings issued for the archipelago, recommending that the entire community take precautions, both when preparing to go to sea and when at sea or in coastal areas.

The Madeira Institute of Forests and Nature Conservation has also reported that the island's walking trails, which are very popular with visitors, remain closed.

Due to the bad weather, the regional civil protection service has reported that, since Wednesday and until noon today, it has recorded a total of 59 incidents, mainly fallen trees (23) and landslides (10), which have required the deployment of 129 personnel and 61 technical resources.

AMB/AYLS // AYLS

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