Jetfoil Madeira to be scrapped after 50 years of service

[Photo; Renato Marques]

The Jetfoil Conservation Concern Group announced yesterday that the “Madeira,” the first Hong Kong-Macau Jetfoil to enter commercial service in 1975, has been relocated to its shipyard area for dismantling.

Sources within the group revealed that the vessel “was relocated to the area of the shipyard where vessels are dismantled.” This follows the scrapping of the ‘Taipa’ vessel in November 2025 at the same site.

Taipa was the third Premier Jetfoil dismantled and the youngest in TurboJET’s fleet.

The Jetfoil Conservation Concern Group highlighted that Madeira was “the very first Jetfoil to enter commercial service, despite the 002 serial number.” Madeira made its debut voyage to Macau on April 25, 1975. That day, the vessel carried passengers aboard at 9 a.m. and completed three round trips.

At the time, Madeira reduced travel time between Hong Kong and Macau from 1 hour and 15 minutes to just 50 minutes while doubling passenger capacity to about 280, according to the group’s statement.

Madeira served on the Hong Kong-Macau route until late November 2013, when it crashed into an unknown object at sea and retired to the shipyard for over a decade. Madeira never received upgrades to Premier Jetfoil status.

Now, four vessels remain in the shipyard: Terceira, the only one to resume service after the pandemic before suspending operations in November 2025; Cacilhas; Horta; and Flores.

Flores holds special historical relevance as the world’s first Jetfoil ever built. It was produced by Boeing in 1974 with hull number 929-100-001. After its initial service in Hawaii, it operated between Hong Kong and Macau for TurboJET.