Former Premier Jetfoil ‘São Jorge’ scrapped, protection group claims

The Jetfoil Conservation Concern Group has announced the scrapping of Jetfoil “São Jorge.” According to sources within the group, the vessel, which had been in the shipyard in Hong Kong for several years, started to be dismantled earlier this month.

The group noted that this was the first jetfoil to be retired and dismantled from those previously submitted to extensive revamps and operated as “Premier” Jetfoils.
It is also the first jetfoil to be scrapped after the service resumed.

The “São Jorge” was built in 1975 and named in 1979 after the Portuguese Azorean island. Previously, the vessel had two other designations and had primarily operated in Venezuela.
Bought by Far East Hydrofoils in Hong Kong, the jetfoil operated between Macau and Hong Kong until 2008, when “São Jorge” and “Flores” were retired.
After the accident of the “Madeira” in late 2013, “São Jorge” was revived and received an upgrade to a Premier Jetfoil, the only one to receive this upgrade from all of Boeing’s 929-100 series.

After the “Santa Maria” retirement in 2019, “São Jorge” became the oldest active vessel in the TurboJet fleet. During the pandemic, the ship stayed active and stood by at the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal from time to time until 2021, when it was finally taken to the shipyard.
It is unclear if the vessel has been dismantled for spare parts, as it happened in other cases, and the group noted that other retired vessels at the same shipyard may soon have a similar fate.

The group has been fighting for the preservation and continuation of the use of this type of vessel, which adds significant comfort to the trip, as well as for the museological preservation of the jetfoil “Flores,” also known as “Jetfoil One” for being the first out of Boeing Marine Systems’ production line in 1974.

The production of these vessels (now by Kawasaki Heavy Industries) stopped only in 2020 with the delivery of “Seven Island Yui,” which is operated by “Tokai Kisen Co.” and is being used primarily on routes connecting Tokyo’s Takeshiba Passenger Ship Terminal and the Izu Islands in Japan.