Naviera Armas

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.{{cite web |url=https://www.navieraarmas.com/en/historia_en |title=History |website=Naviera Armas |access-date=2019-08-28 }}

In 1975, the company introduced the first roll-on/roll-off 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, Portugal 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 However, in 2013, the service to Madeira was abruptly withdrawn due to a dispute over harbour fees.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, the crossing was scheduled to take 24 hours.

{{cite web

| url = https://www.rtp.pt/madeira/sociedade/ferry-madeira-portimao-bilhetes-disponiveis-a-partir-de-amanha-_19383

| title = Ferry Madeira-Portimão: Bilhetes disponíveis a partir de hoje A primeira viagem realiza-se a 2 de julho mas os bilhetes vão estar disponíveis já a partir desta terça-feira (Vídeo)

| date = 12 June 2018

| access-date = 2018-06-13}}

{{cite web

| url = http://madeira-ferry.pt/en/madeira-ferry/

| title = Maritime trips Portimão - Madeira - Canárias

| website=

| access-date = 2018-06-13}}

In the summer of 2019, this service was provided using the ship Volcán de Timanfaya.{{cite web |url=http://madeira-ferry.pt/en/madeira-ferry/ |title=Ferry trips Madeira - Portimão - Canarias |website=madeira-ferry.pt |access-date=2019-08-28 }}

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.

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

{{Reflist}}

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• [http://www.naviera-armas.com/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614065054/http://www.naviera-armas.com/ |date=14 June 2012 }} Official Website
• [http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/ARMAS.html] Ferry Website displaying info on the firm: Simplon PC

Category:Ferry companies of Spain

Category:Ferry companies of Portugal

Category:Transport in the Canary Islands

Category:Companies of the Canary Islands

Category:1941 establishments in Spain