"Norway" (1976-1996)

The Sevilla Shipping Company (ENSSA) began its maritime journey in the late 1950s and throughout its maritime life had seven ships, which could have been eight, although the last one had a very different fate than initially projected.

The first two ships of its fleet were named "Virgen de Valme" and "Virgen de los Reyes" and were two motor vessels from the New Construction Plan of the National Elcano Shipping Company, belonging to type Q - of which 22 ships were projected and twelve were built at the Sevilla shipyard - being delivered between 1959 and 1960.

The ship "Virgen de Valme" was lost in September 1969 near Corrubedo, after a collision with a Greek freighter named "Makalla". It was loaded with wood and paper pulp that had been loaded in Norrkoping (Sweden) and was heading to Lisbon. Despite the strong impact and the damage suffered, the crew managed to save themselves.

In 1973, it expanded its fleet with the acquisition of the ships "La Giralda", formerly "Cantón Grande" and "La Cartuja", formerly "Cantón Pequeño", purchased second-hand from Naviera del Odiel. They were two sister ships, built in ASTANO (Ferrol) at the request of the shipowner Benigno Correa García and put into service in 1960.

In the mid-1970s, due to the evolution of container cargo transport, the Sevilla Shipping Company undertook the renewal of its fleet with a project for four multipurpose ships equipped with a hold of 4,680 cubic meters of cargo capacity or its equivalent of 109 TEUs.

The contract was awarded to Mallorca Shipyards and they were named "Sweden", "Denmark", "Norway", and "Andalusia". The latter never sailed as such and after being unfinished for a long time, it was acquired by the Social Institute of the Navy and converted into the hospital ship "Esperanza del Mar", the first of its name, which remained active until 2001.

The ships "Sweden", "Denmark", and "Norway" entered service in December 1975, the first of them, and during 1976 the other two. The reason for naming them after Scandinavian countries was due to the traffic that the shipping company was engaged in at that time.

In 1984, the ship "Sweden" was sold to Naviera del Odiel and renamed "Puerto Suances". In 1988, it was contributed to a Moroccan company of the mentioned group and sailed under the name "Inezgane" and was later purchased by Macogasa (Naviera de Galicia) and renamed "Breogán I", being transformed into a mini-bulk carrier. A notable journey was made between Santander and Requejada carrying three large cranes in the hold, positioned vertically on the deck and with the hatches fully open.

Renamed 'Brigantium' and converted into a mini-bulk carrier

The ship 'Brigantium', sailing at full load

In 1987, immersed in a severe financial crisis, the company ceased operations. The ships "Denmark" and "Norway" were sold to Naviera Vasco Catalana. Two years later, the former was exported to a Cypriot company and the latter was transferred in 1996 to the aforementioned Macogasa, where it received the new name "Brigantium".

Transformed into a mini-bulk carrier like its twin "Breogán I", it sailed in tramp traffic until 2005, when it was sold to Jiang Shipping Pty Ltd (managed by Global Management & Trading Co. Ltd.), being flagged in Comoros with the new name "Jiang". On June 7, 2011, it arrived in Aliaga (Turkey), where it was to be scrapped.

Construction number 216 of the aforementioned now-defunct shipyard, it was a ship of 1,366 gross tons, 919 net tons, and 2,072 deadweight tons, with main dimensions of 81.95 m in overall length - 73 m in length between perpendiculars - 14.20 m in beam, 7.73 m in depth, and 4.57 m in maximum draft. Powered by a Barreras-Deutz engine, with 2,400 horsepower on a shaft and a fixed-pitch propeller, it could reach 12 knots. IMO Code 7393884.

Renamed 'Jiang', sailing in Turkish waters

Except for the supports, its marine appearance remained unchanged

Photos: José Luis Díaz Campa and José Miralles Pol (spanishshipping.com), Valeriano Aguete, Ilhan Kermen and Mahmoud Shd (shipspotting.com).