Sea tests of the Mestre Jaime Feijó are already being carried out to enable it to be integrated into the Azores maritime operation by the end of the year.


“The new ship is currently conducting sea tests and if the tests are positive the ship will receive its certification,” said the Regional Secretary for Transport and Public Works, who controls the new passenger terminal of the Port of São Roque do Pico.


The certification will be done by the DGRM (Directorate General of Natural Resources Safety and Maritime Services) and is the last step “before the ship goes into operation,” said Ana Cunha.


No dates have been given related to when the ship will begin its operations, but Mrs Cunha admitted that the vessel could be operational before the deadline initially advanced by the executive.


The vessel was built by the shipyards Astilleros Armon and has a capacity for 333 passengers, 15 vehicles and two that can weigh up to 5.5 tonnes.


The Mestre Jaime Feijó replaces the Mestre Simão and joins the vessel Gilberto Mariano in the routes operating between the islands of Faial, Pico and São Jorge, which together form a triangle.


The Mestre Simão ferry had a capacity of 330 passengers and was built in 2014 also in Astilleros Armin, in Spain.


It is currently in the port of Madalena, where it has been since January of 2018 following an accident.


A report released in August 2018 by the Maritime Accident Investigation Office and the Aeronautical Meteorological Authority (HAMA) concluded that the accident in January 2018 was due to a combination of three waves of “significant height” hitting the vessel which led to the ship running aground as it was about to dock on the Island of Pico.