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Hull of the Willow, already out of the water. SUR
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Willow steamboat's bow and stern raised from the water in Benalmádena marina

A large crane will work over the next few weeks to pull the central parts of the ship out of the water, in the final phase of a long scrapping operation involving 100 tonnes of metal

Lorena Cádiz

Lorena Cádiz

Benalmádena

Monday, 2 June 2025

A 60-tonne crane has been working in Benalmádena marina to remove the bow and stern of the now dismantled historic Willow steamboat from the water. It has not been an easy task. The stern weighs 55 tonnes and the bow 45 tonnes. In total, one hundred tonnes of metal that will be cut into pieces in the same mooring area of the port, which has been cordoned off and reserved for this work since the process of dismantling the Willow began in early February.

A shearing machine is taking care of the cutting process, which plays a key role in facilitating the transfer of the parts to the recycling site.

With this step, the operation to dismantle the Willow is in its final stages, although the central parts of the ship - "some six more pieces" - still have to be removed from the water, according to port councillor José Luis Bergillos.

"The work is somewhat complicated and we hope to remove three pieces every week for the next two weeks and then dredge the bottom, with the aim of having the moorings operational by the end of June," said Bergillos.

"After years of waiting and litigation, this administration has managed to do what others failed to do: restore normality and give life to one of the best marinas in Europe," said mayor of Benalmádena Juan Antonio Lara, adding that the investment for this scrapping operation (more than 300,000 euros) serves to facilitate the removal of dangerous materials from the water and "represents an economic revival (...) with the recovery of 19 berths and some 100,000 euros of new annual income".

Sunken and dilapidated

The Willow steamboat's already noticeable state of deterioration due to lack of maintenance worsened when a storm left it semi-sunken in March 2019. Built at the beginning of the 20th century to sail the Mississippi river, it was moored at Puerto Marina for more than two decades, during which time it was a nightclub, a restaurant and even a clandestine brothel.

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surinenglish Willow steamboat's bow and stern raised from the water in Benalmádena marina

Willow steamboat's bow and stern raised from the water in Benalmádena marina