The Ciudad de Mahon (roll-on/roll-off passenger ferry), as it departed Port of Algeciras and entered the Strait of Gibraltar, encountered more severe sea conditions than expected. At the time, Storm Emilia was blowing a strong force7 wind, with unexpected and massive waves as high as 15 feet (about 4.57 meters), which caused the ship to rock.

On Saturday, the Ciudad de Mahon departed from the Port of Algeciras for Ceuta but only left the port three hours later than scheduled. However, it did sail far, and early Sunday morning, the ship encountered "abnormally large waves." A large wave hit the ship, causing it to list and its propeller at the to briefly come out of the water, resulting in a brief engine shutdown, although the problem was soon resolved. The captain decided to return to port for safety reasons.

The wave impact reportedly caused vehicles on the deck to shift and slide around, causing considerable damage. According to El Faro de Ceuta, dozens of cars were dented on the body, although, fortunately, no injuries were reported.

After the Ciudad de Mahon returned to the Port of Algeciras, it was delayed for two hours due to waiting for a berth. During the wait for the ship to dock, passengers were allowed to access food. In total, the round trip, which included sailing and returning, took about five hours.

Footage taken from the deck shows a scene of chaos: cars piled on top of each other at strange angles, with large sheets bent and deformed. Some vehicles were so severely damaged that there will likely be a significant number of related claims.

El Faro de Ceuta reported that the Ciad de Mahon was chosen for this particular journey because it was larger than the usual ships assigned to this route, and the company believed it would be better able to withstand the effects the storm. The Port Authority of Algeciras revealed that both the captain and port authorities approved the ship's departure.

The operator Balearia said in a: "The weather conditions near the entrance to the Port of Ceuta were worse than forecast at the time of departure from the Port of Algeciras, with very violent and waves that prevented the ship from keeping a steady course and making it impossible to dock in Ceuta." The company also offered passengers compensation for damaged vehicles.

After a thorough of the ship and an improvement in the weather, the Ciudad de Mahon has been authorized to resume operations. No further investigative measures are currently planned.

of Monday, the Ciudad de Mahon has resumed its normal route between Algeciras and Ceuta, with multiple round trips daily