Lanzarote: The sunken 'Monte Arballu' salvaged in the harbour

Sunken tuna vessel Monte Arballu refloated at Arrecife port

Lanzarote salvages the tuna vessel 'Monte Arballu'. Once it has been pumped out and its fuel tanks emptied, the vessel is due to go into the shipyard. It belongs to a fleet that has shrunk considerably.

7 Oct 2026, 12:24 1 min read

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On Wednesday, rescue teams salvaged the tuna vessel Monte Arballu in the port of Arrecife on Lanzarote.
The ship sank on 29 September due to an unrepaired leak; it is now to be drained of fuel and taken to the shipyard.
The feared water pollution did not materialise because the Las Palmas Port Authority erected a barrier.

On Wednesday, the emergency services refloated the tuna vessel ‚Monte Arballu‘, which had sunk in the port of Arrecife (Lanzarote) on 29 September due to a leak that had not been repaired.

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Firefighters from the Lanzarote Emergency Consortium took part in the refloating operation, having to pump out water using several pumps, as well as a recovery service, according to sources from the service.

Once it has been brought to the surface, the plan is to drain the fuel from it and then transport it to the shipyard.

Monte Arballu: Barrier prevents water pollution in the harbour

The Las Palmas Port Authority even went so far as to set up a containment barrier to prevent water pollution, which ultimately did not occur.

The ‚Monte Arballu‘, built in 1965, is one of the six tuna vessels remaining in Lanzarote’s small-scale purse seine fleet, which once numbered around thirty, alongside the ‚Santuario Barquereño‘, ‚Zeruko Eregiña‘, ‚Izar Aklde‘, ‚Cima de Oro‘ and ‚Ave Maria II‘.