Telamon Shipwreck remains, despite removal work starting earlier this year

The Telamon Shipwreck, which can be found between Arrecife and Costa Teguise remains in place despite work starting earlier in the year to remove it.

The stricken cargo boat sank on the 31st October 1981, about a mile Northeast of Arrecife carrying a cargo of tropical tree trunks from the Ivory Coast to Thessaloniki (some of the cargo can now be found as part of a sculpture in Costa Teguise). It issued a May Day distress around the Canary Islands. The boat was denied access to the port of Arrecife as there were fears it would block the entrance, so was asked to locate on shallow waters nearby. 42 years on the boat remained in the same place, before a professional company started to dismantle the ship wreck for scrap during the spring of 2023.

Earlier this year a company was contracted to remove the wreck, which had become a hazard to bathers and divers. However, work was stopped around June and the ship remains months on. There is currently no information on if the removal work will continue.

The boat has become a point of interest for visitors to the island and was popular with divers before the area was classified as unsafe due to corrosion.

For years there were rumours about the removal of the shipwreck, which actually came to fruition in 2023, only to be halted a short time later.