Figueira da Foz, Coimbra, Portugal, Jan. 27, 2026 (Lusa) - A Norwegian tugboat will remove the cargo ship Eikborg, which is adrift off the Portuguese coast of Figueira da Foz, and is expected to reach the ship on Tuesday night, according to port and Maritime Authority sources.
According to Paulo Mariano, vice-president of the Figueira da Foz port community, the tugboat was contracted on Monday night by the Dutch shipowner, owner of the ship, and by the Altri group, owner of the 3,300 tonnes of paper pulp cargo on board.
In a statement, the national maritime authority (AMN) said that the tugboat is expected to arrive at the Eikborg at 11 p.m., adding that the freighter is 22 nautical miles (about 40 kilometres) off the Portuguese coast, accompanied by the Navy ocean patrol vessel "Figueira da Foz".
"The shipowner and the shipper have successfully negotiated with a Norwegian-flagged tugboat, which is expected to arrive at the site at around 2 a.m. on Wednesday," said Paulo Mariano.
He added that the towing service will be "extremely complicated" given the state of the sea and will cost around €350,000 per day, to be paid by the shipowner - the Royal Wagenborg group, one of Europe's largest maritime transport companies - and the cargo owner, the Altri group.
"They are already paying, the ship is already underway, even though it hasn't arrived yet," he assured.
Paulo Mariano also explained that the operation carried out by the Norwegian ocean-going tugboat, a 90-metre-long vessel, one metre longer than the cargo ship, "will take several days" and described as "incredible" that “all” Portuguese ports, "with the conditions to receive this ship in tow, refused to allow the ship to enter".
"And the ship will have to be towed to a port in Spain, which I assume, although I'm not sure yet, also has to do with sea conditions, will be in the bay of Vigo [in Galicia]," he revealed.
The Navy and AMN said in a statement that they "continue to monitor and support the cargo ship that suffered a rudder failure" on Monday as it left the Figueira da Foz bar and will do so with an ocean patrol vessel until towing operations begin.
The Eikborg has six crew members on board, all of whom are foreign nationals (the captain is Dutch, and there are also two Indonesians, one Latvian, one Russian and one Filipino) and is carrying 3,300 tonnes of paper pulp (cargo from Celbi cellulose, part of the Altri group), which was bound for a German port.
The ship, which is 89 metres long and 18 years old (it was built in 2008), is owned by a company belonging to the Dutch Royal Wagenborg group, founded in the late 19th century, which has 160 cargo ships and around 3,000 employees.
JLS/AYLS // AYLS
Lusa
