Naviera Armas is a Spanish company, founded in the 1940s, which operates a number of ferry services in Spain. The company mainly operates in the
Canary Islands, with additional routes connecting the Canary Islands and the north African coast to the
Spanish mainland.
As of August 2019, the company operates a fleet of 11 ferries and 5
fast ferries.
History
Naviera Armas was founded in 1941 in
Lanzarote by Antonio Armas Curbelo. Its initial activities were dedicated to the inter-island transport of salt and freight using wooden-hull boats. With the years, the company included steel-hull ships in its fleet and expanded to the old province of
Spanish Sahara
Spanish Sahara ( es, Sahara Español; ar, الصحراء الإسبانية, As-Sahrā'a Al-Isbānīyah), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958 then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used f ...
.
In 1975, the company introduced the first
roll-on/roll-off
Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using ...
vessels in the Canary Islands. However, it was not until 1995 that the company began to offer passenger services.
[
2003 saw the beginning of a fleet renewal plan with the arrival of the '' Volcán de Tindaya''.][
In 2008, the company started offering services to ]Portimão
Portimão () is a city and a municipality in the district of Faro, in the Algarve region of southern Portugal. The population in 2011 was 55,614, in an area of 182.06 km2. It was formerly known as Vila Nova de Portimão (). In 1924, it was ...
, Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
with a stopover on the Portuguese island of Madeira. However, in 2013, the service to Madeira was abruptly withdrawn due to a dispute over harbour fees. Services resumed in the summer of 2018 as a seasonal offering between 2 July and 20 September, being operated by Grupo Sousa using Naviera Armas's ship ''Volcán de Tijarafe'', which provided the crossing prior to the 2013 discontinuation. With a maximum speed of 23 knots
A knot is a fastening in rope or interwoven lines.
Knot may also refer to:
Places
* Knot, Nancowry, a village in India
Archaeology
* Knot of Isis (tyet), symbol of welfare/life.
* Minoan snake goddess figurines#Sacral knot
Arts, entertainme ...
, the crossing was scheduled to take 24 hours.[
] In the summer of 2019, this service was provided using the ship ''Volcán de Timanfaya''.
Fleet
Naviera Armas operates a fleet of eleven ferries and five fast ferries.[ The fast ferries were acquired as a response to competition from rival Canary Islands ferry company Fred. Olsen Express, which operates an entirely high speed fleet.
Not all of the ships operated by Armas are owned by the company. Those owned by Armas follow the company's naming convention: "''Volcán de''" followed by a name starting with the letter T.
]
Photo gallery
Image:ARMAS_Ferry_Volcan_de_Taburiente_2.jpg, Ferry leaving Los Cristianos
Image:Vessel Volcán de Tindaya.JPG, Ferry at Playa Blanca
Image:ARMAS_Ferry_Volcan_de_Taburiente_1.jpg, Ferry in Los Cristianos
Image:VOLCAN DE TIJARAFE 13.Nov.2010.jpg, Volcan de Tijarafe leaving Funchal
Image:Armas Volcan de Timanfaya near Tenerife 20090415.jpg, Volcan de Timanfaya near Tenerife
Image:HSC Volcán de Tagoro, Port of Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, 12. January 2020, side view.jpg, Volcan de Tagoro entering Las Palmas
References
External links
{{commons-inline, Naviera Armas, Naviera Armas
Official Website
Ferry Website displaying info on the firm: Simplon PC
Ferry companies of Spain
Ferry companies of Portugal
Transport in the Canary Islands
Companies of the Canary Islands