What kind of ship is this?

Sometimes in the summer we have to close the port to navigation for a couple of hours due to the replenishment of firefighting aircraft.

This one I believe it’s a Canadair CL-215 (photo by A. Teles)

The Canadair CL-215 was the first model in a series of firefighting aircraft built by Canadair and later Bombardier. This amphibious aircraft serves a number of roles in a number of countries, ranging from forest fire fighting to oil spill control on the open sea. The aircraft can skim lakes, rivers and reservoirs to fill its tanks with water. The water is mixed with additives and then dropped on the wildfires.

Usually we have a 2 hour warning before these planes come to Viana do Castelo, allowing managing the port traffic accordingly. For the recreational navigation on the river, the maritime police speedboat is standing by, issuing warnings whenever necessary.

Click here for some cool photos of these amphibious aircraft in action.