Some of the fleet suffered various naval incidents, e.g. in 1943 one was inflicted damage having struck a mine. When running his own company Pinillos avoided tragedies which haunted him since the 1916-1919 disasters. The only ship lost was "Duero", which in 1953 collided with a British tanker; she sank with no loss of life. Nothing is known of Pinillos political activity during early Francoism; most information referring to him in the 1940s is related to business, either to his fleet or to his saline and landholding operations. Following the 1951 tragic loss of his only son, he embarked on massive charity projects. His key venture was total rehaul of Hospital de San Juan de Dios; as instead of refurbishment works it turned into constructing a new facility, the total sum donated neared 200m pesetas. Pinillos did not live to finalise the project, which was completed by his daughter Carmen. The Hospital re-opened in 1958, hosting the bust of Martinez de Pinillos in the lobby; it is not clear whether the bust is still there.