30 April, 2022 by Juan Carlos Díaz Lorenzo

"Volcano of Tahíche" (1973-1975), second roll-on of Líneas Armas

Twin of the ship "Volcano of Yaiza" and two others of the same series, the first "Volcano of Tahíche" was docked under the name "Rollingen" in the port of Copenhagen when the Gran Canaria shipowner of Lanzarote origin Antonio Armas Fernández, who was then 22 years old, on behalf of the company Antonio Armas Curbelo S.A. and under the protection of the REF, signed its acquisition on July 31, 1973, from the Danish company DFDS.

Ordered for construction on December 22, 1965, with a contract price of 2,750,000 Danish crowns, the first block of its keel was laid on September 15, 1966, and it was launched on August 7, 1967, under the name "Ravenna" simultaneously with the ship "Rapallo", with the curiosity that both hulls had previously been welded and joined by metal bars.

On September 1, 1967, it set sail from the port of Trieste on its way to Copenhagen, where it arrived on the 19th of that month, after which it was renamed "Rollingen" and began service on the route between the Danish capital and the ports of Samso and Odense. On November 12 of the same year, it was officially baptized, and throughout 1968 it covered the routes Copenhagen-Aalborg, Copenhagen-Samso-Odense, Kolding-Fredericia, and Horsens-Vejle. Between 1969 and 1970, it covered Copenhagen-Randers-Sonderborg and Copenhagen-Aalborg-Aarhus, a route it maintained until September 1971, when it was docked.

The Lanzarote captain Gregorio Armas López, who had been in charge of the ship "Firlingen" on its early voyages, also took command of the ship "Rollingen", which departed from the Danish capital on August 20, 1973, and made a stop in Vigo for a similar refurbishment to that performed on its twin, as both originally had a closed stern and only had side doors.

In October 1973, renamed "Volcano of Tahíche", the ship was in the port of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, pending the resolution of the flagging procedures to proceed to its commissioning. With provisional authorization from the General Directorate of Navigation, on January 8, 1974, it made its first trip between Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and six months later, the authorization for definitive flagging arrived.

In 1974, two incidents occurred. In the early hours of July 2, during the maneuver to leave the port of Las Palmas, it was struck by the ferry "Juan March", which was also preparing to sail, causing scratches on the port side fin, and on July 20, while in the port of Arrecife, it was boarded by the ship "Monte Umbe", also during the departure maneuver, after the anchor chains got entangled. In that same year, it made a trip to the tourist town of Puerto Rico, in the south of Gran Canaria, where it loaded a 180-ton crane for Los Cristianos. In these three incidents, the ship was under the command of Captain Manuel Garrocho Martín.

The commissioning of the ships "Volcano of Timanfaya" and "Volcano of Tisalaya" led to the decision to sell the ship "Volcano of Tahíche", just two years after its acquisition. On April 15, 1975, it made its last stop at the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and on May 2 of the same year at the port of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, where it passed to the ownership of the Danish company Rederiet Lindinger A/S, of Havneby, being renamed "Lindinger Satelit". Sent to the Husumer shipyard, it would be transformed into a floating seismic station, a condition it remained in for three years.

In October 1978, it was resold to Lindinger Marine Services, without changing its name at that time, although this episode was brief due to the company's bankruptcy, which is why in January 1979 it passed to MacDonalds Transport (North East) Ltd., based in Edinburgh, and barely a month later it was transferred to Salvesen Marine (Offshore) Ltd., of Aberdeen, being renamed "Kingcraig" and subjected to a significant transformation as a support vessel for oil platforms in the North Sea.

In May 1984, it was resold to Georg Craig & Sons Ltd., of Aberdeen and was renamed "Grampian Harrier", managed by North Star Shipping Ltd. In 1995, it began a new phase under the name "V. Harrier" and in that same year, it was resold to Primula Shipping Inc., being flagged in Honduras with the new name "Sea Eagle I".

In 2000, renamed "Albatros I", it was registered under the name of Geotechnical Engineering & Marine Surveyors (GEMS) and was flagged in St. Vincent & Grenadines. At that time, we saw it docked in the port of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, painted blue and white. In Norway, it had been modernized as a support vessel equipped with dynamic positioning and geotechnical, geophysical, and anchoring equipment. In February 2012, its name had disappeared from Lloyd’s and its existence was in doubt.

With a gross tonnage of 300 tons, net tonnage of 139 tons, and deadweight of 399 tons, it measures 51.10 m in total length –42.83 m in length between perpendiculars–, 9.53 m in beam, 5.72 m in depth, and 3.20 m in maximum draft. During its time in Spain, it was registered in the naval registry of Arrecife de Lanzarote and is powered by an Atlas Mak 451A engine, with 800 horsepower on a shaft, allowing it to maintain a speed of 11 knots. IMO Code 6724402.