The Funchal, one of the best-known liners in the history of the Portuguese merchant fleet, has been placed on the market again as part of insolvency proceedings involving its current owner, Teamson Lda. The vessel is being offered through a sealed-bid process running until the end of September 2026.
The minimum bid has been set at EUR 802,354. The ship is being sold on an “as is, where is” basis from its current location at anchor on the Tagus River and is being offered without outstanding debt.
Prospective buyers can inspect the vessel on September 18th, while written bids accompanied by a 10% security deposit must be submitted by September 30th. The bids are scheduled to be opened publicly aboard Funchal on October 9th, 2026.
The insolvency administrators have confirmed that the vessel is asbestos-free and holds a licence for hotel operations. These conditions resulted from conversion work undertaken by Teamson as part of an earlier attempt to transform the ship into a floating hotel, although the project was never completed. The vessel therefore remains positioned for a potential future use as floating accommodation.
Funchal was commissioned in response to the limitations of air connections between mainland Portugal and Madeira during the late 1950s. The project followed the disappearance of an Artop Linhas Aéreas seaplane over the Atlantic, with all 36 people aboard presumed lost. At the time, Madeira did not have an airport, and passengers travelling by air had to fly to Porto Santo before continuing to the island by sea.
The new vessel was commissioned by Empresa Insulana de Navegação, with naval engineer Rogério de Oliveira leading the design with the support of Azorean shipowner Vasco Bensaúde. Funchal was constructed at the Helsingør shipyard in Denmark and launched on February 10th, 1961.
The ship entered service on November 4th that year, initially operating between Lisbon, Madeira and the Azores. During its first decade, it served as a combined passenger, cargo and mail vessel, with occasional calls at the Canary Islands. Its interior design and relatively high standard of accommodation earned it the nickname “presidential yacht”, and it was subsequently used by Portuguese President Américo de Deus Rodrigues Tomás for several state voyages. Among the most notable was its 1972 voyage transporting the remains of Emperor Pedro I to Brazil.
That same year, Funchal suffered major engine problems while sailing to Rio de Janeiro with President Tomás aboard. The vessel was diverted to Amsterdam for emergency repairs, during which a major conversion was carried out. Its steam turbines were replaced with diesel engines, while a swimming pool and economy-class cabins were added. The ship was also converted to single-class cruise operations, marking its transition from a scheduled island service to a tourism-focused role.
Following the 1974 Carnation Revolution and the nationalisation of its operator, Funchal temporarily returned to the Portuguese island routes. Passenger numbers had fallen significantly, however, with some voyages reportedly carrying only a handful of passengers while maintaining a crew of 150+.
A major change in the ship’s fortunes came with its acquisition by Greek shipowner George Potamianos for his Classic International Cruises operation. Funchal subsequently spent more than two decades serving the British cruise market. Following Potamianos’ death in 2012 and the subsequent liquidation of Classic International Cruises, the vessel was again left without an operator.
In 2013, Portuguese businessman Rui Alegre and Portuscale Cruises acquired the ship and returned it to service following refurbishment. The relaunch was attended by the Portuguese prime minister, but the vessel was detained in Gothenburg, Sweden, shortly afterwards over safety deficiencies. Funchal eventually resumed operations in 2014 before being permanently laid up in Lisbon in 2015.
Another proposed use emerged in 2018 when British hotel group Signature Living purchased the vessel at auction for EUR 3.9 million. The company initially planned to operate Funchal as a party-oriented cruise ship sailing between Liverpool and Mediterranean destinations, including Ibiza. When that plan failed to materialise and the purchase was not fully completed, the proposal was changed to a permanent floating hotel in Liverpool. That project also failed to progress, and Signature Living entered receivership in 2020, leaving Funchal in Lisbon once again.
The vessel was auctioned again in December 2020 and was acquired by businessman and cryptocurrency investor Brock Pierce for ~EUR 1.6 million. His plans called for Funchal to be converted into a 5-star hotel with ~200 rooms or cabins at the Naval da Rocha shipyard in Lisbon. The project was expanded through the acquisition of Astoria, another former transatlantic liner, which was intended for a separate hotel development in Funchal, Madeira.
Conversion work proceeded slowly, and a fire aboard Funchal in 2021 required the deployment of ~20 firefighting crews. The hotel project remained unfinished, although the work resulted in the removal of asbestos from the vessel and contributed to its existing hotel licence.
Astoria has since been scrapped, while Funchal remains at anchor on the Tagus awaiting another potential owner. Its latest sale offers a further opportunity to give the more than 6-decade-old vessel a new role, although its eventual future will depend on whether a buyer is prepared to complete the necessary conversion or pursue another use for the historic ship.