The Funchal is being offered for sale through a sealed bid process that will run through late September, according to sources in Portugal.
Last operated by Portuscale Cruises, the 1961-built vessel has spent most of the last 15 years docked at the Port of Lisbon.
In an announcement published in Portugal’s Correio da Manhã newspaper, a Madeira court said that the sale is part of the insolvency process of Teamson Lda.
The company acquired the 402-passenger ship in April 2021, as part of a project that also included the now-scrapped Astoria. At the time, the venture was believed to be linked to a crypto investor who wished to set up a cruise operation in Portugal.
According to insolvency administrators, the Funchal will be sold as is, where is for a minimum bid of 802,354 euros.
Potential buyers are invited to send their written bids to an address in Lisbon by September 30, 2026.
In addition to basic contact and personal information, bidders are asked to forward a security deposit check for 10 percent of their offers.
While new owners will be responsible for all charges related to the purchase, the ship is being offered free of any debt.
Bidders are also invited to visit the ship on September 18, 2026, while the bids will be opened during a public event to be held onboard the vessel on October 9, 2026.
Teamson sent the Funchal to a drydock in Lisbon in 2021, in what were said to be preparations to turn the historic vessel into a hotel.
While the project was left incomplete, insolvency administrators said the ship is now asbestos-free and licensed for hotel activities.
The Funchal last sailed for Portuscale Cruises, a Portugal-based cruise line that succeeded Classic International Cruises.
Launched in 2013, the company acquired the 9,845-ton ship while it was undergoing an update project aimed at making it compliant with the latest SOLAS regulations.
While the Funchal initially resumed service for the new brand, the operation was short-lived, and the vessel was back in layup in 2015.
United Kingdom-based Signature Living acquired the ship in 2018 for a project that would see it turned into a party boat for ravers in Ibiza.
The company later decided to tow the vessel to Liverpool before turning it into a floating hotel in the UK, but the project was also abandoned and the Funchal remained in Lisbon.
