The Consell Insular de Formentera has launched this Friday, from early in the morning, a special device to remove the remains of the boat Helisara VI, destroyed by the strong storm that hit the island yesterday.
The action, coordinated by the Environment Area and executed by the company Prezero, focuses on cleaning the wood and materials washed ashore, combining manual work and specialized machinery in order to ensure maximum efficiency.
The mythical Helisara VI, a 23-meter sailboat that once belonged to the famous Austrian conductor Herbert von Karajan . The boat ran aground on August 14, 2024, during a DANA that fully affected the Natural Park of Ses Salines, and since then remained abandoned on the coast, exposed to deterioration and successive storms.
The first vice-president and councilor for the Environment, Verónica Castelló, highlighted the speed of the response. He explained that all the waste from the vessel that has washed up on the beach is being removed to minimize the environmental impact. During the day, priority is given to the removal of the pieces closest to the sea, in order to prevent them from being swept away by the waves.
The remains still at sea will be removed as soon as weather conditions permit, once the most appropriate way to intervene, either from land or by sea, has been assessed.
Castelló recalled that the complete removal of the ship could not be carried out earlier due to the technical complexity and high costs of the operation, which required a specific tender.
“The location where it was aground made access with cranes very difficult and costly, so it was necessary to follow the corresponding legal and technical procedures,” he explained.
The Consell de Formentera confirmed that no contamination or risk to people has been detected, and assured that continuous monitoring will be carried out to ensure that all material is removed and that the episode does not leave additional environmental consequences.
