The Azores Situation Report Wednesday 3rd May 2023
Atlânticoline management wants to bet on the decarbonization of ships.
The nominee chairman of the board of directors of Atlânticoline, Francisco Bettencourt, pointed to the decarbonization of maritime passenger transport in the Azores as the company’s big bet in the future.
“Decarbonization is the future, it is our big bet”, said the administrator of the public company for maritime transport of passengers and vehicles in the archipelago, who was heard today at the Economy commission of the Legislative Assembly of the Azores, meeting in Angra do Heroísmo, following his nomination for chairman of the board of directors.
Francisco Bettencourt was referring to the “innovative bet” already announced in April by the regional secretary of Finance, Duarte Freitas, to order the construction of two electric ships to operate in the Triangle islands (Faial, Pico and São Jorge), to replace the current vessels, diesel powered.
Atlânticoline’s administrator, who has been a member of the Board of Directors for the last 12 months, and who is now proposed by the Government of the Azores (PSD/CDS-PP/PPM) for president of the company, recalled that fuel expenses currently represent quite high costs in the company’s structure.
As he explained, the public tender that the region intends to launch for the construction of future electric vessels should be ready in September or October, although there are still some doubts about how the batteries of the ships will be charged, especially in the ports of the island of Pico, where the scales for boarding and disembarking passengers and vehicles take only 15 minutes, as a rule.
Francisco Bettencourt expressed, on the other hand, satisfaction with the fact that the shipyards of Madalena do Pico, currently managed by Tecnovia, are being prepared to dock the Atlânticoline ships, so that they do not have to go to Lisbon for maintenance or certification.
The company’s administrator also highlighted the “good operating results” recorded in recent years, which made it possible to settle Atlânticoline’s debts and balance its treasury.
Pre-trial detention for two suspects of several thefts in São Miguel
Two men were held in pre-trial detention for being suspected of various crimes of theft on the island of São Miguel, in the Azores, including theft of goods vehicles allegedly used in robberies, revealed the PSP.
According to the Regional Command of the Azores of the PSP, in addition to those two men, the police detained, on the 26th of April, a third suspect, who was left with “the measure of coercion of mandatory periodical presentations before the authorities”.
The PSP adds, in a press release, that the three men are 43, 42 and 29 years old, two of them with “criminal records”.
The arrests took place following several investigations “into various thefts of light goods vehicles” that have taken place on the island of São Miguel and which “have been widely referenced on social networks and through the media in the region”, explains the PSP.
In this specific case, the vehicles are stolen using “false keys” and the vehicles are later abandoned “in isolated places”, after having been “used to break into commercial establishments”, through “the rear of the vehicles hitting the doors” of the stores.
Also, according to the police, the suspects were transporting “tobacco vending machines” in their vehicles that they allegedly stole from inside establishments.
PSP investigations and the collection of evidence at the sites reveal that “the defendants are potential suspects of having been acting in collusion in several robberies of this type on the island of S. Miguel”, adds the police.
The PSP refers that the three men are suspected “of at least five crimes of aggravated theft, a crime of simple theft and several crimes of theft of vehicle use”.
But the police admit that the detainees may be associated with other similar robberies, under investigation, and that there may be more arrests of other defendants “related to the theft of vans on the island of São Miguel”.
Azores have 44 beaches and six Blue Flag marinas.
The 44 beaches awarded with the Blue Flag in the Azores archipelago are spread over ten different municipalities.
The Azores archipelago has 44 beaches this year – two more than in 2022 – and six marinas distinguished with the blue flag, spread over 10 municipalities of the archipelago, as announced yesterday by the Blue Flag Association of Europe.
Among the beaches distinguished with this symbol of environmental quality, there is a new bathing area, namely Calhetas da Maia, in the municipality of Ribeira Grande, and there are also records of two re-entries, one at Piscina do Carapacho and one at Praia, both located in Santa Cruz da Graciosa. There is also an exit, namely Prainha, located in Angra do Heroísmo.
It is on the island of São Miguel that most of the award-winning beaches are found, with the attribution of 19 blue flags of this nature.
In the municipality of Ribeira Grande, there are five distinguished bathing areas, namely Areal de Santa Bárbara, Poças da Ribeira Grande, Calhetas, Moinhos and Calhetas da Maia, as well as in the municipality of Ponta Delgada, where there is a blue flag in Forno da Cal, Milícias, Pópulo, Poços de São Vicente Ferreira and Poças Sul dos Mosteiros.
In Lagoa, there are three distinguished bathing areas, namely Caloura, Baixa da Areia and Zona Balnear da Lagoa, followed by Vila Franca do Campo, also with three distinguished bathing areas, Água d’Alto, Prainha de Água d’Alto and Vinha of Areia, respectively.
Also, in Povoação there are three awarded beaches this year, namely Portinho do Faial da Terra, Praia do Fogo and Morro.
The information provided also makes it known that on the island of Terceira there are 13 beaches distinguished with this flag, seven of which are in the municipality of Praia da Vitória and six in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo, and on the island of Faial there are four awarded beaches.
As for the island of Graciosa, it now has four zones with the blue flag, the same as the island of Santa Maria.
With regard to the six Azorean marinas distinguished with the blue flag, the information states that these concern Marina da Horta, Marina da Praia da Vitória, Marina de Ponta Delgada, Marina de Vila do Porto, Núcleo de Recreio Náutico das Lajes do Pico and Sailing Nautical Recreation Nucleus.
In addition, three Ecotourism vessels also received the blue flag in the Azores, namely Terra Azul, Terra Azul I and Terra Azul III, all based in Vila Franca do Campo.