Porto Santo Line

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Porto Santo Line

logo
legal form Sociedade anónima (joint stock company)
founding November 24, 1989
Seat Funchal
management Luís Miguel Sousa
Branch shipping
Website www.portosantoline.pt

The Porto Santo Line is a Portuguese shipping company founded in 1989 and based in Funchal on Madeira . It operates a ferry service between Funchal and the neighboring island of Porto Santo with the Lobo Marinho .

The shipping company's first ferry: Lady of Mann

Formation and ownership

Shortly before the takeover of the Empresa de Navegação Madeirense (ENM) shipping company in 1990, Grupo Sousa founded the Porto Santo Line shipping company in 1989 to enter the passenger travel market between the main port of the archipelago, Funchal, and the neighboring island. Until then, the ENM had operated freight traffic on this route and could carry a maximum of 12 passengers on its ships. At the same time, the passenger traffic was carried out by the Autonomous Region of Madeira , which at that time used the catamaran Independência and the ferry "Pirata Azul", followed in 1990 by the SWATH ship Patria .

The Grupo Sousa is a private Portuguese group of companies headquartered in Funchal, Madeira. In addition to the Porto Santo Line, it also operates the freight shipping companies Empresa de Navegação Madeirense , Boxlines International and PCI . It is also the operator of seaports and is active in the areas of logistics, energy and tourism.

Development of the shipping company

As the first ship, the Porto Santo Line used the freighter Madeirense (2) , which it had rebuilt in 1990 so that instead of 12, 120 passengers could now be carried. With five connections a week, it competed with the Patria , but could only transport 12 vehicles that had to be laboriously loaded with a crane. In 1995 the old freighter was replaced by the chartered Lady of Mann . The ferry, built in 1976, only stayed for a few months and impressed with the ease of loading and unloading the vehicles. The shipping company then used the Patria, chartered by the regional government, for passenger traffic between the islands until 1996 , while cargo continued to be transported from the Madeirense (2) .

In 1995 the Porto Santo Line won the tender for the sole ferry service between Funchal and Porto Santo and after a long search found a suitable ship. The start of operations and the first crossing took place on June 8, 1996. Since then, a company ferry has been commuting between the two large islands of the archipelago almost every day .

The first Lobo Marinho in 2010 under the name Menhir

The ferry company bought in June 1996 was initially adapted to the requirements through modifications and was given the name Lobo Marinho (German: "Sea Lion"). The ship was built in 1968 on Aalborg Værft in Aalborg / Denmark , was 88 meters long and 15.65 meters wide, had four drive motors with 2180 hp each and could carry 885 passengers. From 1968 to 1984 she operated in Norway as Christian IV between Kristiansand and Hirtshals . In 1984 it was sold to Kuala Lumpur and renamed Pernas Safari , from 1994 to 1996 it operated as a Maltese safari between Bari and Corfu before it reached Madeira.

The Porto Santo Line had in the meantime ordered a more modern and larger ship, which took the name Lobo Marinho and has been in service with the shipping company since 2003. In the same year she sold the first ferry to the Cabo Verde Line .

The new building Lobo Marinho 2010

The second and today's Lobo Marinho is a RoRo ferry . It was on 28 January 2002 at the shipyard Baltic Shipyard in St. Petersburg on down Kiel . The hull was towed to Portugal and completed at the Estaleiros Navais de Viana do Castelo shipyard . The ship made its maiden voyage on June 4, 2003 . The cargo and passenger ferry has an overall length of 112 meters and a draft of five meters. It holds 1150 passengers and 145 vehicles. With the two main engines delivering 8000  kW each , the ferry reaches a speed of 21,426 knots .

In regular service, the ship usually starts at 8 a.m. from Funchal and reaches the port of Porto Santo a good two hours later. The return journey takes place in the evening at 6 p.m. On Fridays, the trip from Funchal is at 7:00 p.m. and the return trip from Porto Santo at 10:30 p.m. This almost daily timetable is supplemented by a second trip on selected days.

Ships of the shipping company

Surname Construction year shipyard measurement period of service Notes, whereabouts
Madeirense (2) 1962 Estaleiros São Jacinto , São Jacinto 1,214 GRT 1989-1998 Freight ship of the Empresa de Transportes do Funchal , (sister company of the Empresa de Navegação Madeirense ) bi-weekly fruit transports from Madeira to Portugal; 1990 Conversion for 120 instead of 12 passengers on the Funchal - Porto Santo route.
Lady of man 1976 Ailsa Shipbuilding Company , Troon / Scotland 4,482 GRT 1995-1995 Ro-ro - Ferry ; Used for Steam Packet Company until 1995 and chartered for three months by the Porto Santo Line in July 1995 and extended until November.
Patria 1990 FBM Marine, Cowes / Isle of Wight 110 tons 1995-1996 Swath ship , built as a ferry for Regaio Autonoma da Madeira and chartered by the latter after winning the tender and given back after purchasing the Lobo Marinho .
Lobo Marinho (1) 1968 Aalborg Værft , Aalborg / Denmark 2,707 GRT 1996-2003 Ro-ro - Ferry ; ex norway. Christian IV , malays. Pernas Safari and Painted. Safari (Malta); daily trips between the two islands of the archipelago after renovation.
Lobo Marinho (2) 2003 Estaleiros Navais de Viana do Castelo 8,072 GT since 2003 Ro-Ro ferry built for Porto Santo Line. Daily scheduled service between Funchal and Porto Santo.

literature

  • Luís Miguel Correia: Lobo Marinho de / of 2003 (Portuguese / English), EIN Edicoes e Iniciativas Náuticus, Lisbon 2004, ISBN 978-972-8536-04-6 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Correia, p. 33
  2. ↑ a b A Porto Santo Line at mardoportosanto.blogspot.com
  3. ^ Website of the Grupo Sousa
  4. ↑ Correia, p. 63ff.
  5. ↑ A operação ferry between Madeira e Porto Santo at marilheu.com
  6. ^ Correia, pp. 35ff.
  7. ^ Website of the shipping company Porto Santo Line
  8. ↑ Photo and data for the first Lobo Marinho on ship-rex.com
  9. ↑ Porto Santo Line - Ferry information
  10. ↑ Pictures and data on the ships of the Porto Santo Line on simplonpc.co.uk
  11. ↑ Timetable of the Lobo Marinho on the shipping company website
  12. ↑ O cargueiro “Madeirense” at marilheu.com
  13. ↑ Lady of Man at faktaomfartyg.se
  14. ↑ Sun Flower 2 ex Pátria at marportosanto.blogspot.com
  15. ^ Website of the shipping company Porto Santo Line
  16. ^ Website of the shipping company Porto Santo Line