Trasmediterránea operates passengers and cargo ferries between mainland Spain and the
Canary Islands, the
Balearic Islands, and northern
Africa's Spanish territories. Since 2017 the majority of the company belongs to
Naviera Armas.
History
The Trasmediterránea ("cross-mediterranean") company was constituted on November 26, 1916, with the fusion of the companies of shipowners José Juan Dómine, Vicente Ferrer, Joaquín Tintoré and Enrique García, though it didn't start operating until January 1 of following year. It was headquartered in
Barcelona and had a fleet of 45 ships.
In 1978, it became a state-owned company, until it was privatized by the
PP government in 2002. The
SEPI sold the company to a consortium that consisted of Acciona Logística (60%), Caja de Ahorros del Mediterráneo, Compañía de Remolcadores Ibaizábal, Agrupación Hotelera Dóliga, Suministros Ibiza and
Naviera Armas. Later, the company changed its name to Acciona-Trasmediterranea. Currently it operates a fleet of 25 ships and is headquartered in
Madrid.
From 1921 to 1998, when the sector was liberalized, it had the
monopoly on the lines that linked the mainland Spain with the islands and northern Africa. Today, even as it has lost its monopoly and has competition, Trasmediterránea is still leader in its sector.
At the end of October 2017, Acciona group agreed to sell its 92.7% stake in Trasmediterránea to
Naviera Armas, another Spanish shipping company operating ferries mainly in the
Canary Islands. The deal, pending approval by Spanish authorities, was expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2018.[1]
Trasmediterránea has its own maritime stations in Barcelona, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Valencia. The company's activity is structured in four zones:
Canarias-
Cádiz: regular lines, in both directions, from:
Audacia (2008–2011) as Rizhao Orient for a chinese company since 2014.
Sherbatiskiy (2013–2015) Scrapped as Sher at
Alang,
India in 2015.
Sorrento (2014–2015) A fire broke out when departure from
Palma De Mallorca on 24 April 2015. The passengers survived. In 2016 the ship was scrapped at
Aliaga,
Turkey.
Snav Adriatico (2015–2017) as Snav Adriatico for
Grandi Navi Veloci since 2017.