www.CRUISESHIPODYSSEY.com
|
|
|
|
This small passenger ship started service between the Canary Islands in 1912 and was decommisioned in 1977. Bought by a Dutch scrap merchant van der Marel, she was towed to the Netherlands to become a maritime museum. Alas, after three years she was closed down and sold for demolition. VIERA Y CLAVIJO
The Viera Y Clavijo was originally ordered by the Compania de Vapores Correos Interinsulares Canarios. This company had started a regular interisland service between the Canary Islands in the 1880's. For this service two small ships were used, the Viera Y Clavijo (I) and the Leon Y Castillo (I), both measuring ca. 500GRT. In 1912, the company decided that the fleet needed expansion and the number of vessels was now totalling 6 units, the Viera Y Clavijo (II), Leon Y Castillo (II) and the La Palma as well as the smaller vessels Fuerteventura, Gomera Hierro and the Lanzarote. The Viera y Clavijo was delivered by shipyard Caledon SB & Co from Dundee, Scotland. She measured 862 GRT, had a length of 67m, a beam of 9m and a draft of almost 4m. Propulsion was by a triple expansion steam engine with an output of 1000hp. Two boilers were used which were oil-fired.
She carried 190 passengers and 38 crew members. In her holds Viera Y Clavijo carried 890 cubic meters of bulk cargo maximum. To handle her cargo she had two masts with 2 cranes which could handle 3 tons and 4 cranes with a capacity of 2 tons. Between both world wars the company changed its name to Compania Trasmediterranea with it headquarters in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. This company still operates ferry services around Spain and to the Canaries today. Of course, after her long period of active service, Viera Y Clavijo had become most uneconomic to run and was ultimately offered for sale. Dutch scrap merchant mr. van der Marel bought the antique vessel in 1977 and had her towed to The Netherlands by a tug of Muller Tugs from Terneuzen, Holland. On the way they started up her old and worn steam enigines and they ran smoothly!
Mr. van der Marel owned a very large collection of ship models, antique steam engines and maritime memorabilia which were put on display on board. Maritime enthusiasts soon knew to find their way to the Viera Y Clavijo and spent hours on board going through the entire collection. Suddenly, after the summer of 1980, all objects were removed from the ship and she was sold to a Belgian scrapyard near Antwerpen where this historical vessel was dismantled. Photographs of ss Viera Y Clavijo moored at the Parkkade, Rotterdam in 1978
|
|
End
|
