After years of financial difficulties (which had led the company to already sell the maritime lines business unit with the Balearic Islands to Grimaldi), Naviera Armas Trasmediterránea has announced that it has signed, through its holding company Bahía de las Isletas SL, two binding agreements for the sale of its operations to Baleària Eurolíneas Marítimas and its activities in the Strait of Gibraltar to Dfds Iberia SL
Bahía de las Isletas SL, which operates under the Armas Trasmediterránea brand, has reached two binding agreements. The first concerns the transfer to Baleària of its commercial activities – routes, assets, and employees – in the Canary Islands, the Iberian Peninsula, Algeria, and the Alboran Sea, as well as land transport activities. The second agreement concerns all assets and employees of its activities in the Strait of Gibraltar destined for Dfds and Baleària.
Naviera Armas also announces that, separately, in July it had signed an agreement for the sale of the ship Fortuny to Liberty Lines, a ferry company controlled by the family of Ettore Morace. The ferry in question is 172 meters long, 26 meters wide, has a transport capacity of 1,250 passengers, 140 vehicles, 1,500 linear meters of garage, and a service speed of 21.5 knots.
The routes between the Canary Islands, between the Canaries and the Iberian peninsula, Alboran and Algeria generated revenues of approximately 420 million euros in 2024. The main assets that are part of this operation are the ships Volcán de Teno, Volcán de Tamadaba, Villa Tazacorte, Volcán de Tinamar, Volcán de Tindaya, Juan J Sister, Almariya and Volcán de Timanfaya, as well as port terminals, offices, concessions and services in the ports where the group is active, including La Esfinge, Tenerife, Arrecife, Puerto Rosario, Cadiz, Melilla, Motril, Almería, La Palma, La Gomera, Valverde, Los Cristianos, Algeria and Nador.
The Strait of Gibraltar routes generated approximately 66 million euros in revenue in 2024. The main assets acquired by Baleària in this transaction include the ship Ciudad de Málaga and a concession in Algeciras. Dfds, on the other hand, has acquired the ships Volcán de Tamasite and Villa de Agaete, as well as the concessions and terminals of Algeciras, Ceuta and Tangier Med.
The completion of both sales processes is subject to the usual approvals from the competition guarantee authorities. The company has already obtained the necessary authorizations from shareholders and creditors to proceed with the finalization of both transactions.
Sergio Vélez, CEO and president of Naviera Armas Trasmediterránea, stated: “This step consolidates our future in the regions where we operate and demonstrates our capacity for transformation and continuous improvement. With this operation, Armas Trasmediterránea joins a larger project that will open new opportunities for our employees and collaborators. These agreements mark the final touch to a challenging, long but highly successful restructuring and transformation process, thanks to the commitment of all parties involved to recover the company’s value”.
The president of Baleària, Adolfo Utor, emphasized that the signing of these strategic agreements will allow Baleàriato “take up the baton from the historic shipping companies Trasmediterránea and Armas, so deeply rooted in the Canary Islands, and ensure stability and territorial cohesion through a more competitive local shipping company thanks to the synergies generated between Baleària and Armas Trasmediterránea”.
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