Fred. Olsen Celebrates Its 45th Anniversary Amid Delays

In recent days, we have received complaints from passengers of Fred. Olsen Express using the La Gomera-Los Cristianos-La Palma route, who report the considerable delays affecting the service operated by the trimaran “Benchijigua Express.” Once again, passengers from La Palma are particularly affected, as last Sunday the ship arrived at the port of the capital of La Palma later than ever, at four ten in the morning, and last night it arrived at two in the morning.

Apart from the disruptions this causes to those affected, the rest of the crews is also impacted, as such significant delays imply a breach of the minimum rest time, which exacerbates fatigue, especially for those in responsible positions, as the embarked shift does not get the required minimum sleep either.

The cause seems to be a malfunction of an engine, which causes the world's largest trimaran's speed to drop by about six to eight knots. Consequently, the domino effect means that the “Benchijigua Express” cannot meet its schedules, initiating a chain of delays, which is particularly noticeable in the evening-night trips, coinciding with the celebration of its 45th anniversary. Additionally, the port of Los Cristianos is suffering from congestion, one of the pending issues for the Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, for which there seems to be no short-term solution.

Fred. Olsen is also experiencing problems with the catamaran “Betancuria Express,” which also has a malfunctioning engine and, like the “Benchijigua Express,” is accumulating delays in its itinerary, causing further issues for passengers, to whom the company limits itself to apologizing over the loudspeaker. In the case of the world's largest active catamaran, a schedule reorganization has been planned from July 20 to August 10 to carry out repairs while the ship remains in service.

Recently, Naviera Armas, which has also been facing a similar problem with the ferry “Volcán de Taburiente,” decided to stop the ship for three days at the port of Santa Cruz de La Palma. The service was covered with extraordinary rotations of the ships “Volcán de Tamadaba” and “Volcán de Tirajana,” while technical teams worked tirelessly until the malfunction was resolved, and the mentioned ship has returned to normal and full performance, at its 23 knots speed.

Photo: Hilmar Peschel (shipospotting.com)