The world’s first Boeing Jetfoil scrapping has started

JCCG

The scrapping of the world’s first Boeing Jetfoil, “Flores,” has begun, according to a source with the Jetfoil Conservation Concern Group (JCCG), who confirmed to the Times yesterday.

Previously, the group said “Flores” had been moved to the Hong Kong Ocean Shipyard area, where other jetfoils had been scrapped, in anticipation of the outcome.

The JCCG has now confirmed that dismantling of the vessel began on the morning of Oct. 15.

Moved to the shipyard in late 2020 after the maritime link between Macau and Hong Kong was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the vessel was set to begin scrapping on several occasions, but calls from several groups and public outcry halted the work.

According to the group, the June 2022 incident involved the famous floating restaurant “Jumbo,” which capsized and sank while being towed for scrapping, drawing further attention to the need to preserve pieces of collective memory.

The same group noted that work on the upcoming Transport Museum in Hong Kong and the planned tourism and culture areas in Macau’s Zone A of the new landfills were under discussion as venues to display “Flores” to encourage citizens from both SARs to reflect on history and to enable tourists to explore the cities in depth.

Despite the groups’ efforts to save the vessel, it seems that authorities in both Macau and HK took no action to preserve it.

Flores, launched in 1974 as Jetfoil One, is the first of its kind and has led the jetfoil fleet on the Hong Kong–Macau route since 1975, operating for 45 years and setting “an almost unbreakable record of longevity in the line for a single model.”

The vessel originally served as Boeing’s official sample to demonstrate its “leading technology” to global buyers, including the late gambling tycoon Stanley Ho.

Flores, named after an island in Portugal’s Azores archipelago, served in Hawaii until 1978, when Far East Hydrofoils Co., Ltd. purchased it for the Hong Kong–Macau line.

Flores was the third jetfoil to serve this sea route, following Madeira and Santa Maria in 1975. Flores retired in 2008 and has been laid up in a Hong Kong shipyard since then.

In August 2020, a rumor circulated that TurboJET planned to sell its retired vessels, Flores and the PS-30 hydrofoil Balsa, for HKD700,000, sparking a heated local discussion.

After the pandemic ended, only one Jetfoil, “Terceira,” resumed service until mid-November 2025.

Other than Hong Kong and Macau, Jetfoils once served international routes in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Japan, and Korea, but now operate only in Japan.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries began manufacturing Jetfoils under license from Boeing in 1987, paused production in 1995, and resumed in 2019.

A modified version was recently announced, demonstrating that Jetfoil remains competitive even after 50 years.

Attempt to preserve ‘Flores’

In late 2020, an early attempt to scrap Flores clashed with public opinion, which was discontented. At the time, then Secretary for Administration and Justice André Cheong (now President of the Legislative Assembly) said the marine department was taking the matter seriously and had been following up.

In Hong Kong, the Central and Western District Council immediately passed a motion requesting that the Hong Kong government organize the preservation of “Flores.”

Even Boeing expressed sadness about the news and hoped its history department could preserve the nameplate or other significant parts.

Later, the vessel returned to the Ocean Shipyard, where it has remained ever since.

Starting in mid-2025, the shipping company accelerated its scrapping of Jetfoils, including “São Jorge,” “Funchal,” “Taipa,” “Madeira,” and “Horta,” and is now targeting “Flores.”

The JCCG also noted several successful cases of converting historic ships and other forms of transportation into tourist attractions, such as H.M.S. Belfast in London, UK, and Hikawa Maru in Yokohama, Japan.

In 2025, the French Ministry of Culture announced that the first Concorde has been designated a historic monument, alongside the Louvre Palace, Notre-Dame de Paris, and the Eiffel Tower.

The group urged both SAR governments to unite their efforts and urgently find a solution before it is too late to save an important piece of history.