PUNTA DA GUIA

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Patrol boat refloated grounded tugboat

On Aug 26, 2025, the 'Punta da Guía' came to assist the historic tug 'San Esteban', which had run aground at América beach, in the Ría de Vigo, and pulled it to the port of Baiona. The historic steamboat, now powered by a diesel engine, had run aground on the morning on the beach of Playa América due to a mechanical failure and heavy swell. It got stuck in the middle of the Nigrán sandbank. The skipper attempted to maneuver it back out to sea several times, but was unable to do so until, just after 3:00 p.m., the vessel was towed off by the Galician Coast Guard thanks to the rising tide after an hour of maneuvers In 1902, the 'San Esteban' was completed at the Phillips & Sons Shipbuilders Ltd. shipyard in Dartmouth. Measuring almost 17 meters in length and just over four meters in width, it operated as a fishing vessel for its first five years under the name 'Venture'. In 1907, it was converted into a tug, owned by the Sociedad General de Ferrocarriles Vasco-Asturiana (Basque-Asturian General Railway Company). It ceased operations in 1970 and was later rescued from scrap and restored between 1998 and 2003 by the San Esteban Tugboat Protection Society, which included engineer José Cardín, manager of Sidra El Gaitero. Today, it is owned by Industrias Ferri, based in the A Pasaxe industrial estate in Gondomar, which financed its latest restoration in 2021 at Talleres Carral. Reports with photos and video: https://www.msn.com/es-es/noticias/virales/el-remolcador-remolcado-gardacostas-rescata-al-barco-hist%C3%B3rico-que-embarr%C3%B3-en-praia-am%C3%A9rica/ar-AA1LiQce https://www.lavozdegalicia.es/noticia/vigo/nigran/2025/08/26/barco-vapor-san-esteban-encalla-playa-america-queda-varado-marea-baja/00031756199611314958656.htm https://www.elcomercio.es/asturias/bajo-nalon/vaporin-encalla-galicia-orillas-playa-america-20250827074445-nt.html https://www.vigoe.es/comarcas/val-minor/nigran/asi-fue-el-rescate-del-san-esteban-tras-encallar-en-praia-america/ https://www.farodevigo.es/comarcas/2025/08/26/barco-historico-embarra-praia-america-120947708.html https://www.atlantico.net/nigran/buque-san-esteban-leyenda-flotante_1_20250826-3960054.html