Armas closes the route between the Canary Islands and Huelva

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Noticias:

Armas closes the route between the Canary Islands and Huelva.


Armas announced on Monday that, as of 19 April, it will close the line between Huelva and the Canary Islands and will unify all its operations with the Peninsula from the port of Cadiz. The shipping company has reported that the ships that operated in the capital of Huelva will start operating from the capital of Cadiz.



This decision, according to the company, "responds to the improvement plan that it is implementing" since the company's restructuring agreement. According to the shipping company, the change improves its competitiveness in the market and saves time.



The ships Ciudad de Valencia, Volcán de Tinamar and Villa de Tazacorte will make the journey, which passes through Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Tenerife and La Palma.



The closure of the Huelva line comes shortly after Naviera Armas has also closed the route between Morro Jable and Las Palmas and announced the sale of the vessel that runs the line from Tenerife to La Palma.

[TamaraEnLaPlaya]

Noticias:

Balearia and Fred Olsen take over the ferry line between Huelva and the Canary Islands.

Armas' decision did not take anyone in the sector by surprise, since it had been considered for months that there would be a move of this type



The maritime line between Huelva and the Canary Islands will continue with three weekly departures operated by Baleària-Fred Olsen after the announcement on Monday of the departure of the shipping company Armas, which opened transport in 2011 in the Port of Huelva. The Canarian company has made a move in its business strategy with which it will limit from now on all its communications with the peninsula to the Port of Cadiz, where the passenger terminal is its property, advances the digital newspaper Huelva Información.



The departure of Armas de Huelva will not affect the Canary Islands route from the Port of Huelva, which at the moment maintains three connections a week, with round trips, with the islands through two ferries operated by Baleària and Fred Olsen, in an alliance that now remains with the regular line, both for passenger transport and ro-ro freight.



The decision of Armas made public yesterday does not take anyone in the sector by surprise, since it was considered months ago that there would be a move of this type, within its current strategy of concentration of services and cost optimization.



In fact, two months ago, from 13 January, a new Baleària-Fred Olsen ferry came into service on Saturdays, expanding the offer on the Huelva-Canary Islands route to three weekly departures. The disappearance of the transport also operated on Saturdays by Armas, therefore, will not have an impact on the line.



The president of the Port of Huelva, Alberto Santana, has assured Huelva Información that the users of the Huelva terminal "will maintain the Huelva-Canary Islands connection with the shipping companies that operate this route in the Port of Huelva, therefore, the services are guaranteed".



In any case, Santana "regrets" that the shipping company Armas, "which implemented the first road line in the Port of Huelva, reduces its offer of services due to restructuring issues, concentrating them all in Cadiz".



The current operation, the president of the Port Authority of Huelva has also made clear, does not rule out a possible expansion: "These shipping companies are in a position to increase their capacity to guarantee the service to all cargo and passengers so that they can continue to leave through the Port of Huelva".



Baleària and Fred Olsen work together on the Huelva-Canary Islands route with two vessels, the Marie Curie ferry and the Sicilia, which cover the line three times a week, with options to extend to four (two per ferry) due to the needs of the service, which has progressively increased in recent years, consolidating a commercial route that has become fundamental for the communication of the Canary archipelago with the mainland.



Since January 13, the line operated since 2018 by both companies has departures from Huelva every Tuesday, Friday and Saturday. Meanwhile, from Tenerife and Gran Canaria, these routes are made on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.



The incorporation of the gas-powered vessel Sicilia to the Huelva-Canary Islands route has meant, as the general manager of Baleària, Georges Bassoul, pointed out at the time, "improving the offer and serving all travellers as part of our commitment to offer the best service on this route that in 2023 celebrated five years of activity". Fred's fleet manager. Olsen Express, Juan Ignacio Liaño, also highlighted how "the integration of this new vessel highlights how over the years the connection between the Canary Islands and Huelva has been consolidated". According to Liaño, this is "a necessary union that represents a logistical and service improvement for all passengers and a connectivity alternative where a comfort and quality service is provided".



The ferry of the shipping company Armas will continue to operate during this next month with the Port of Huelva until April 19, when it is expected to concentrate all its services with the peninsula in its terminal in the Port of Cadiz.

[windermeregolfer]

With all the investment that has been made by the Huelva Port Authority at the ferry terminal over the last 6 years since we started using it for our crossings each year I thought it strange there would only be one ferry crossing per week to the Canaries from Huelva, so good to know Balearia-Fred Olsen will be making 3 crossing a week, will have to check which islands they will connect with.