A government official from the Ministry, which oversees public transport in the Greater Lisbon and Porto areas, said the catamaran, run by the Transtejo ferry company serving Lisbon and the towns on the south bank of the River Tagus, ran aground near the quay in Montijo.
According to the commander of the Port of Lisbon, Malaquias Domingues, the vessel ran aground at about 5.25pm, some 50 metres from the Montijo quay.
However, passengers and crew had to wait onboard around four hours before the operation to clear the vessel could be launched, at around 9pm, after it refloated with the high tide and could be towed to dock.
In comments to Lusa News Agency Isa Lopes, a spokeswoman for Lisbon transport said the vessel set off from Cais do Sodré in Lisbon at 5pm and ran aground as it neared Montijo “due to a breakdown in the machines and the low tide”.
She stressed no passenger was injured.