The Last Spanish Refrigerated Ships for Mambisa

At the end of the 1980s, the Cuban government authorized the construction of three new refrigerated ships, which were contracted through Naviera Castellana at the shipyard of S.A. Juliana Constructora Gijonesa. They entered service in July and December 1990 and March 1991, respectively, named “Viñales” (IMO 8812796), “Yumurí” (IMO 8812801), and “Escambray” (IMO 8812813) and delivered to the Mambisa Navigation Company under a lease with an option to purchase.

However, nearly five years later, amid the decline of the Cuban Merchant Marine and due to the non-payment of ship mortgages, as a result of financial difficulties and the questionable political management of the shipping company, Naviera Castellana, as the legal owner, managed the recovery of the three refrigerated ships.

Returned in June 1995, January and February 1996, for a brief period they sailed under the names “Segovia,” “Salamanca,” and “Soria” with a Panamanian flag. In mid-1996, they were resold to the company Seatrade Groningen B.V., being flagged in the Dutch Antilles and renamed “Aruba,” “Antilla,” and “Antigua.”

In 2016, the former “Viñales” was resold to the Russian company Transport Shipping Co. LLC, being renamed “Atlántica” and flagged in that country. In 2019, without changing its flag, it came under the control of Far East Ship Management and has since sailed under the name “Nauta.”

As for the former “Yumurí,” it followed a similar fate and in 2016 was resold to the aforementioned Russian company, where it bears the name “Pacífica.” In 2017 it came under the control of Pacifika LLC, maintaining the same name and flag. In October 2022, it was halfway through dismantling in Busan (South Korea).

Regarding the last of them, the former “Escambray,” according to Marine News, on July 15, 2011, it arrived in Alang (India) and shortly thereafter, dismantling work began. Since 1996, it had borne the name “Antigua,” which it maintained until the end of its maritime life.

With a gross tonnage of 4,190 tons, a net tonnage of 2,006 tons, and a deadweight of 4,600 tons, they measure 105.35 m in overall length, 16 m in beam, 9.60 m in depth, and 6.90 m in maximum draft. Compartmentalized into four holds and eight refrigerated sections with a capacity of 199,618 cubic feet, assisted by three cranes of five tons each, they can also carry 20 TEUs or 6 FEUs + 8 TEUs. Powered by a MAN B & W engine, with a power of 4,557 horsepower on a shaft, they maintain a speed of 14.5 knots.

Photos: Frian Fisher (shipspotting.com)