How long will Las Marañuelas stay closed?
Mogán town hall says Las Marañuelas will stay shut for at least two more days. The black flag stays up and swimming is banned.
Technicians expect the clean-up and the monitoring of the pollution to take two to three days. Counting from Tuesday 10 November, that points to Thursday or Friday.
Spanish reports mention Friday 13 November. The town hall has named no official date, and reopening depends on the clean-up and new water tests.
Anyone heading to the area should respect the ban and ask the town hall for the latest before walking to the beach. The reports name no fines for breaking it.
What happened off Arguineguín?
A 15-metre boat sank off Arguineguín during Storm Bruna. Reports say fuel leaked out, and the town hall closed the whole beach as a precaution.
The boat's name, type and owner are unknown. According to mayor Onalia Bueno, Puertos Canarios (the Canary Islands ports authority) has not identified the owners.
Nobody has yet said how much diesel escaped. The town hall's technical services are assessing the amount at the request of the Canary government.
Las Marañuelas lies in a sheltered cove on the west side of Arguineguín. An undated beach guide describes it as about 300 metres long, with black sand, restaurants and bars, but no lifeguards.
Who tests the water and decides when the beach reopens?
Inspectors from Salud Pública visited the site on Tuesday. The town hall says they judged its measures so far, including the closure, positively.
The town hall has started the water tests that Salud Pública requires. They should show the state of the water and when the beach can safely reopen.
Beaches councillor Willy García regretted the closure in the middle of high season. The safety of bathers comes first, he said.
On the evidence so far, the town hall decides on reopening, backed by the health authority. The case from November 2025 fits that picture: bathing bans and flags were then also set locally, based on health authority reports.
Why are the town hall and the ports authority arguing over anchored boats?
Mayor Onalia Bueno wrote to Puertos Canarios, the Dirección General de Costas y Gestión del Espacio Marítimo Canario and the Capitanía Marítima de Las Palmas. She wants tighter checks on anchored boats and the owners identified.
Owners should also be warned of bad weather so that they move their boats. Bueno says she alerted Puertos Canarios to anchored boats a few days before the storm and was told they had not been identified.
When boats drift onto the beach, Bueno says nobody feels responsible. Puertos Canarios then points to Costas or the Capitanía Marítima; the reports carry no statement from Puertos Canarios.
García calls for a round table of Puertos Canarios, Costas, the Capitanía Marítima and the town hall. There have already been several such cases, he said: “We cannot afford for it to happen again.”
Has a beach closure like this happened before?
In November 2025, several beaches in Telde stayed under a red flag for weeks after rotting fish from fish farms washed ashore. Mogán reopened its bathing areas then, and Las Marañuelas was one of the last to return to a yellow flag.
The cause of the fish pollution was never officially confirmed. Antonio Morales, president of the Cabildo (the island government), said the grease was not toxic pollution but was enough to close beaches.
On 4 September 2024, fuel leaked in La Luz port in Las Palmas while the container ship Akhisar refuelled, closing four beaches. The shipping company lodged €340,000 with the Caja General de Depósitos: €200,000 against a possible penalty and €140,000 for the costs of Salvamento Marítimo (the sea rescue service).
What is still unknown?
The amount and type of fuel, the boat's name and the owner have not been published. Nothing has been said either about who pays for the clean-up.
The reports do not say whether Salvamento Marítimo or the Capitanía Marítima are involved in the operation. Accounts differ on the exact day of the sinking, from Sunday 8 to Monday 9 November.
Neither the town hall nor the reports name alternative beaches. Whether other beaches in Mogán or Arguineguín are affected is also unknown.
Next come more water tests and the approval of the health authority. Mogán town hall then decides on reopening; no date has been set.