16 March, 2022 by Juan Carlos Díaz Lorenzo 👁️ 208

The Legacy of Antonio Armas: Fifty Years of 'Volcanoes'

In 2018, when Antonio Armas Fernández decided to purchase Trasmediterránea, he not only became the first shipping group in Spain but also the fourth at the European level, both in terms of the number of ships and passenger movement. Naviera Armas Trasmediterránea, as it has been known since then, is the sum of two shipping companies of different origins, although both converge in the same direction.

Since 1995, Naviera Armas has been the successor of Antonio Armas Curbelo, a company founded in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in 1942, although its promoter, originally from Lanzarote, had begun his journey in September 1941 with the acquisition of the schooner “Astelena”, after having ventured into fishing. Trasmediterránea dates back to November 1916, having been established during World War I after the initial merger of four other shipping companies.

The shipping group we know today has its origins in the figure of Antonio Armas Curbelo, who was born in 1899 in Yaiza (Lanzarote). In Yaiza, the Armas Curbelo family experienced the harshness of World War I, during which shortages of all kinds intensified, and in 1919, when he was still not yet 20 years old, Antonio Armas decided to settle in Arrecife, where he opened a fabric store, which soon his brothers also joined.

From 1937 and for the next three years, Antonio Armas worked in the salt pans of Arrecife, from which he supplied salt to the fishing industry of Lanzarote, and part of the production was exported to Fuerteventura and Las Palmas aboard chartered sailing ships, until in September 1941 he began his stage as a shipowner with the acquisition in Bilbao of the schooner “Astelena”, of 99 TRB, which was completely rebuilt upon its arrival in Arrecife, being transformed into a motor-sailer and dedicated to salt transport.

In 1942, when Europe was fully experiencing World War II, Antonio Armas Curbelo moved his residence to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, where he settled permanently. On General Vives Street, he opened his first office and began his expansion in cabotage, acquiring the ships “La Carlota” and “Rápido” in 1944; “Nuevo Adán” in 1946; “Diana” in January 1947; and “Capitán Pírez” in December 1951.

In the second half of the 1950s, he definitively began his career as a motor shipowner, steam, and steel hull, with the incorporation of the following ships: “Concepción Aparisi” in January 1954; “Rosita Soler” in December 1954, with which he began his relationship with the Sahara in 1955. In May 1955, he purchased the motor-sailer “San Bartolomé,” and in 1959 he bought two more ships: “Puerto de Valencia” and “Andrés Rial”. By the end of the 1950s, the fleet of Antonio Armas Curbelo consisted of nine ships: three motor vessels and six motor-sailers.

In the 1960s, Antonio Armas Curbelo became the first shipowner in the Canary Islands, both in terms of the number of ships and tonnage capacity. In January 1960, he purchased the ship “Medina Tanya”; in April and July 1962, the ships “Marijé” and “Cromo” were acquired, while three motor-sailers were lost due to accidents. An important year was 1963, when four new ships were incorporated: “Polensa”, also known as “Polensa de humo”; “Puerto de Burriana” and “Puerto de Denia,” which were then the largest in his fleet, and “Barreras Puente”. In addition to the Sahara service, he also made frequent trips to the Peninsula and Mediterranean countries (Italy, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco). In August 1965, he purchased the motor-sailer “Nicamara,” although he had been chartering it for three years.

On March 6, 1966, the Antonio Armas Curbelo S.A. corporation was established in Arrecife, Lanzarote, as until then it had been a sole proprietorship. In that same year, he acquired the newly built ship “Antonio Armas,” which then held the honorable title of being the largest in his fleet. In 1967, he purchased the ships “Polensa Tercero,” “Lashercia,” and “Golondrin” in the Basque Country. Other ships incorporated in the remainder of the 1960s included the ships “Riva,” “Felipe,” “Ramales,” and “Musel.”

The generational change came in 1968 with the incorporation of his son Antonio Armas Fernández (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 1946). In 1973, a new stage began with the arrival of the first roll-on ships that sailed in the ro-ro service of the Canary Islands, imported under the REF: “Volcán de Yaiza” and “Volcán de Tahíche.” With them, the aim was to compete with the container transport initiated by Contenemar. Antonio Armas Curbelo is known for his phrase at the presentation of the first of them: “Will we ever fill it?” From then on, a new identity was given to the fleet with names of volcanoes from the Canary Islands, which in its early years were from Lanzarote, in homage to the Armas family's homeland.

Naviera Armas

The evolution of ro-ro traffic in the Canary Islands determined the decision to expand and renew the fleet with the incorporation of new units, built at the Vulcano shipyard in Vigo: “Volcán de Timanfaya” and “Volcán de Tisalaya” in 1974 and 1975, and “Volcán de Tamia” and “Volcán de Tinache,” both in 1983.

Two years earlier, second-hand, the ship “Puente Canario” was incorporated, and in 1991, the lengthening of the ships “Volcán de Tisalaya” and “Volcán de Timanfaya” was undertaken. In 1992, the first “Volcán de Teneguía” arrived, acquired second-hand, and at that time became the largest ship in the company. With this fleet and some chartered ships, the commercial network was maintained and expanded, having a presence in Mauritania, Cape Verde, and the Peninsula.

Naviera Armas debuted in mixed passenger traffic in 1995 with the construction of two newly built ships called “Volcán de Tauce” and “Volcán de Tejeda,” built at the Barreras shipyard in Vigo. With them, a new stage began, which corresponds to the starting point of the company we know today. In 1995, the Playa Blanca-Corralejo line began with the first “Volcán de Tindaya.” In 1996, the first “Volcán de Tamasite” arrived for the Las Palmas-Morro Jable line, and in 1999, the Armas Cruceros experience began, with round trips during the day to various islands, operated by the ship “Volcán de Tenagua.”

In 2000, the first attempt was made to equip maritime transport in the Canary Islands with a high-speed monohull ship with the ship “Volcán de Tauro,” specially built in Italy, although the experience did not yield the expected results at that time. The last second-hand ship acquired was the ferry “Volcán de Tacande.”

In 2003, a new stage began with a fleet plan that within seven years would motivate the incorporation of eight ferry-type ships, all newly built, contracted at Astilleros Barreras (Vigo) and an investment of over 800 million euros, as outlined in the following table:

Furthermore, starting in 2006, Naviera Armas has burst into passenger and vehicle transport on high-speed ships with the successive incorporation of three catamarans –“Volcán de Tirajana,” “Volcán de Teno,” and “Villa de Agaete”– and in August 2021, the fifth arrived, called “Volcán de Taidía”. This ship is a twin of the fourth catamaran of Naviera Armas called “Volcán de Tagoro”, incorporated in August 2019, both being the most modern and advanced in the world in their category, placing the Canary Islands at the international forefront of high-speed maritime transport.