Iberian Ports


Paddle steamer "Ville de Paris", a painting by Louis le Breton, described as a regular line from France to Spain and Portugal (via Wikimedia)

Peninsular
The first packet-boat service under sail was started in 1689 between Falmouth and Corunna. A British fleet took possession of Gibraltar in 1704, controlling the western entrance to the Mediterranean. During the steam age the British Empire was the dominating power - and Spain got its steamer connection with England thanks to the British naval base Gibraltar. It was Captain Richard Bourne with his City of Dublin S.P.Co., who, in 1835, took up negotiations with the Spanish Government aiming to start a steamer service to the Iberian peninsula. In 1837 the Peninsular Co. , founded in association with Arthur Anderson and Brodie M'Ghie Willcox, got a contract by the British government for a mail service Falmouth - Vigo - Porto - Lisbon - Gibraltar. Already before they had undertaken irregular trips to Iberian ports and in 1837 the steamer "Don Juan" carried for the first time the Indian Mail as far as Gibraltar, from where it was forwarded by the Admiralty. From 1840 the Peninsular & Oriental, the P&O, crossed regularly the Mediterranean - see chapter Indian Ocean/ Indian Mail.

Atlantic Islands

Madeira (WS)

Ocean liners bound for South America or South Africa called at Madeira, the health resort of the aristocracy of that time, or at Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Passengers could have admired the bizarre Pico de Teide on Tenerife island and the Palmeros would have waved to the departing ships... The Royal Mail Steam Packet Co. was dominating. A secondary line from London to the Canaries was operated by Forwood Brothers' Steamers, in 1908 transferred to the Royal Mail Line. Yeoman Line started passenger-cargo services Liverpool - Canaries in 1912 and they were present until 1954.

In Portugal the Empresa Insulana de Navegacao had been founded in 1871. Years after World War II the company acquired the "Israel" and "Zion" of Zim Lines, renamed "Angra do Heroismo" and Amelia de Mello" for the Lisbon - Madeira - Tenerife route. The company served also the Azores and introduced in 1961 the nice steamer "Funchal" (10,031 gt). The Companhia Portuguesa de Transportes Maritimos provided inter-island services on the Azores, a Portuguese territory.


"La Palma", a relic of the past at Santa Cruz de Tenerife, 2010 (WS)

Motor ship "Ciudad de Cadiz" of Trasmediterranea (old card, coll. WS)

The important Spanish company serving the Canaries, North Africa and of course the Mediterranean became the Compania Trasmediterranea, founded in 1916 by amalgamation of the companies Gijonesa, Islena Maritima, Maritima Barcelona, Menorquina, Nevegaceon e Industria, Tintore, Valenciana and Vinvesa. In 1928 Trasmediterranea started to replace the small ships of their heritage fleet by new bigger ones, beginning with the M.S. "Infanta Beatriz" of 6,729 tons, an elegant white ship with two short yellow/red funnels. Naviera Aznar provided passenger-cargo services. In the late 50s the Cia. Trasatlantica Espanola offered also steamer services from Southampton to the north of Spain and to the Canary islands.

Car Ferry and Hi-Speed
In 1966 Klosters Sunward Ferries of Knut Kloster, son of the Norwegian cargo shipping entrepreneur Lauritz Kloster, launched a car ferry service for British vacationers from Southampton to Portuguese and Spanish ports with the new 8,666-ton car-ferry "Sunward". Unsuccessful, he continued the services in the Caribbean - and became one of the pioneers of modern cruise shipping (see chapter Cruises).


Rebuilt "Black Prince" of Fred. Olsen, Piraeus 2007 (WS)


"Volcan de Timanfaya" of Armas, Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2010 (WS)

In the same year 1966, Fred. Olsen & Co. introduced the car ferry "Black Watch" (9,499 gt) and sister "Black Prince" on a London - Canaries route (during summer employed by Det Bergenske), in 1970 followed by the "Blenheim" (10,420 gt, then "Discovery I" for Miami - Bahamas cruises). Naviera Aznar introduced in 1974/ 75 the 10,851-ton car ferry "Monte Toledo" and sister "Monte Granada" on a route from Southampton and even Amsterdam to Santander, closed down however in 1977 and the ships were sold to Libya. Compania Trasmediterranea introduced car ferries on the routes Barcelona- and Cadiz - Canaries. The metropolis of Las Palmas with its important harbour is served still nowadays by the car ferries from Cadiz of Acciona Trasmediterranea. A main provider of Canaries inter-island services is Naviera Armas, founded in 1941, later connecting also Morocco. Local services are provided also by Ferry Gomera and other enterprises.

Lineas Fred. Olsen started catamaran hi-speed operations, first with the 96m InCat "Bonanza Express". The Austal trimaran "Benchijigua Express" for 1,350 passengers and 340 cars surpassed the other hi-speeds in size. The white/ yellow catamarans were labeled FRED. OLSEN EXPRESS. Trasarmas hi-speeds disappeared from the timetable.


Trimaran "Benchijigua Express", Tenerife 2007 (Piotrus, via Wikimedia)

"Bentago Express", Santa Cruz de Tenerife 2010 (WS)

Azores services of Acor Line were taken over by Transmacor. From 2007 inter-island services were provided by Atlanticoline, initially with the ferry "Express Santorini", chartered from Hellenic Seaways, later also with the MDV1200 monohull hi-speed "Viking", ex "SuperSeaCat Two", then "Hellenic Wind" of Hellenic Seaways. In late 2011 the "Hellenic Wind" could have been watched lying at Perama, Greece, sporting Hellenic Seaways colors and the label Atlanticoline. In the same year 2011 the Cabo Verde Lines had bought second-hand ferries for the inter-island routes of the independent Cabo Verde islands off the coast of Africa. The Portuguese island of Madeira is connected with nearby Porto Santo by the Porto Santo Line.


"Express Santorini", operated by Atlanticoline, transferred to Piraeus, 2010 (WS)

"Hellenic Wind", operated by Atlanticoline, transferred to Perama, 2011 (WS)


"Lobo Marinho" of Porto Santo Line arriving at Funchal, Madeira 2010 (WS)

Quite another sort of "transport" made headlines in our time: "On the other side of the seas, in Nouadhibou, the harbour of Mauretania, black people squatting in heat and dust hope to get on a boat which could carry them to the Canaries" reported Der Spiegel (26/2006), "1,200 km aboard such a boat called "Cayuco", 1,200 km life-threatened by waves, weather and current...".

Strait of Gibraltar
Crossing the strait, only 14.6 km wide, is the shortest way from Europe to Africa and in the past fanciful projects for tunnels or bridges were to make crossing easier. A train ferry and a railway across North Africa in order to accelerate the British Indian Mail had been an unrealistic proposal in 1904. Even since air transport dominates, dreams of a gigantic bridge for road traffic or a railway tunnel continued to emerge. More realistic are the shipping services. Cook's timetable listed towards the end of the 19th century Gibraltar - Tangiers ferries of traditional Messrs. Bland, services from Malaga und to Ceuta by Haynes & Co and the services Cadiz - Tangiers - Algeciras - Gibraltar of Compania Trasatlantica in connection with their Liverpool - Tangiers - Rabat - Casablanca - Mogador line. Bradshaw's Timetable of 1914 showed the daily ferry from Algericas to Ceuta, the Spanish harbour on the African side of the strait, "in connection with the Morocco Express". That was a branch of the famous de-luxe train Sud-Express from Paris to Lisbon, where a connection was arranged with the grand steamship lines. After WWI, the "Isis", once built for the P&O's Indian Mail route Brindisi - Port Said, was engaged by Bland as "Gibel Sarsar" for fast Tangier and Casablanca services. Between 1923 and 1956 Tangiers had an international neutral status, boosting its economy.

After WWII migrant workers on their voyage from France to their families used the train to Algeciras and from there the ferry to Morocco. Car ferries of Bland Line Isnasa, Limadet and Trasmediterranea as well as Transtour hydrofoils replaced steamers. The attempt by Klosters Sunward Ferries with the "Sunward" in 1966 on a Southampton - Vigo - Gibraltar - Casablanca route failed when Spain closed its ports for tourist ships calling at Gibraltar. From 1971 for a few years the car ferry "Eagle" (11,609 gt) of Southern Ferries Ltd (P&O) was employed on Southampton - Tangiers services, in 1975 sold to Nouvelle Cie. de Paquebots as "Azur" and in 2004 she became the "Royal Iris", cruising for Mano Maritime of Israel.


The former "Eagle" as "Royal Iris" of Mano Maritime, Piraeus 2008 (WS)

"Tarifa Jet" of FRS (Maddmaxx, via Wikimedia)

In 2000 the fastest line Tarifa - Tangiers was started with FRS catamarans. In the new century Algericas became connected with Tangiers in 1 hour by hi-speeds of Acciona Trasmediterranea, Balaeria, Euroferries, IRS Iberia and Nautas Ferry. FRS Iberia crossed the Strait in 35 minutes with the Austal catamaran "Tanger Jet II" and the Incat-built "Tarifa Jet". After Trasmediterranea had introduced the hi-speeds "Alcantara" and "Almudaina" of the Spanish Mestral 96 type, their sister "Albayzin" changed from New Zealand to the Ceuta route, operated by the Uruguayan company Buquebus. Then Buquebus Espana and Euroferries extended hi-speed operations to the Spanish enclave on the Moroccan coast, which is fenced against illegal immigrants.

The North of Spain
During the age of the ocean liners, before and after WWI, Vigo was the Spanish port-of-call for Royal Mail and other South Atlantic liners. Hall's Line and other companies connected the northern and the western coast of the Peninsula, too. In the late 50s the Cia. Trasatlantica Espanola provided steamer services from Southampton to the north of Spain and the Canary islands.

In 1967 Svenska Lloyd pioneered car ferrying Southampton - Bilbao with the 8,897-ton "Patricia". Between 1974 and 77 Aznar Line offered Southampton - Santander services with the new "Monte Toledo". In 1978 all these services were replaced by a route Plymouth - Santander of Brittany Ferries, founded by Alexis Gourvennec in France, first with the "Armorique", from 1989 with the "Bretagne" (25,015gt), from 1993 the "Val de Loire" (1987/31,395gt, ex "Nils Holgersson") and from 2004 temporarily the new "Pont-Aven" (41,748 gt). Competition arose in 1993 when P&O European Ferries started a service Portsmouth - Bilbao, supported by the Basque government, with the "Pride of Bilbao" (1986/25,015 gt, ex "Olympia" of Viking Line). In 2006 Acciona Trasmediterranea has appeared temporarily on the Portsmouth - Bilbao route. In 2010 P&O abandoned its unprofitable Spanish services and Brittany Ferries added to their "Cap Finisterre" (ex "Superfast V") the Superfast VI.

Spanish Mediterranean Ports

Barcelona with the "Sorolla" of Acciona Trasmediterranea, 2008 (WS)

In the 19th century, travelers for Spain could use steamers of Hall's Line from London and Haynes from Gibraltar to Malaga. Before WWI they could go from Barcelona to the Balearic Islands by ships of La Maritima and Islena Maritima. A line from Alicante to Marseilles was started already in 1856 by A. Lopez. From 1881 the service was taken over by the Cia. Trasatlantica. The Compania Trasmediterranea was founded in 1916 and their ships with the yellow/red funnel dominated the Spanish market. King Alfons XIII bewared Spain from becoming involved in WWI, but in 1931 he had to resign. When in 1936 the 'Olimpiada Popular' was held in Barcelona in opposition to Hitler's Olympics, French teams arriving by special trains received a tremendous welcome, but they had to flee from the civil war aboard the French ships "Djenne" and "Chella". In 1939 Franco was victorious and, staying neutral during WWII, he ruled Spain until his death in 1975.

"Mallorca" of Islena Maritima (old card, coll. WS)

The Compania Trasmediterranea was acquired in 1978 by the Spanish government. In 1991 the corporate image was changed. Acciona Trasmediterranea appeared with a white/red instead of the white/blue/green colour scheme. In 2009 a Web site informed: "Acciona SA has put on hold the sale of Acciona Trasmediterranea". A subsidiary, Ferrimaroc, opened Almeria - Nador services. In 2001 Acciona Transmediterranea introduced the 26,916-ton car ferries "Fortuny" and "Sorolla". Then the company extended its activities to Italy with a ro-pax service Barcelona - Livorno, competing with the Grimaldi Group.


"Juan J. Sister", Malaga 2010 (WS)

"Wisteria" of Ferrimaroc, ex "Princess Beatrix", Duc de Normandie", Barcelona 2007 (WS)

The car ferry service to Italy had been pioneered by Ybarra/ Canguro, providing in the 70s a service Palma de Mallorca - Genoa with the "Cabo San Sebastian" and "Cabo San Jorge". Ybarra was renowned for South Atlantic services (for the cooperation of Ybarra with Italian companies see chapter Italian Ports). The "Canguro Verde" of 1967 became after five changes of name the 11,162-ton "The Calypso" of Thomson Cruises.


The former "Canguro Verde" as "The Calypso", departing Piraeus 2009 (WS)

"Manuel Azana" of Balearia, Ibiza 2000 (WS)

The Baleares are connected by ferries and hi-speeds, catamarans and monohulls. Acciona Trasmediterranea and Balearia have become the leaders. Iscomar ferries were striking with their yellow paint scheme. The services had started in 1998 and in 2011 Wikipedia reported an "insolvent state". Most spectacular have become the operations Barcelona - Palma de Mallorca of Acciona Trasmediterranea with the car-carrying catamaran "Milenium", an InCat 96m type of 2000, with a capacity of 900 passengers surpassing even the Rodriquez TMV115-type monohull "Federico Garcia Lorca" of Balearia in size. For some years Buquebus Espana has been a competitor, the InCat "Catalonia L" with a capacity of 900 passengers being among the largest hi-speeds. In the new century Buquebus left the scene.

"Milenium" of Acciona Trasmediterranea, Ibiza 2007 (Aadrover, via Wikimedia)


"Catalonia L" of Buquebus Espana, Palma de Mallorca 1998 (WS)