The steamer La Palma in 1984

Two photos of the Spanish inter island passenger steamer LA PALMA (built 1912) taken at Las Palmas de Grã Canaria in May 1984.
At the time she was waiting to be converted into a museum ship, but it took a long time before the preservation project got off. She was later towed to Tenerife and is being refitted now.
The LA PALMA was constructed by W. Harkess & Sons Ltd., in Middlesbrough, England, as Yard No. 192, for Cia de Vapores Correos Interinsulares Canarios, a company based in Las Palmas and associated to Elder Dempster of Liverpool. She was the third of three sister ships, the other being VIERA Y CLAVIJO and LEON Y CASTILLO (1912-1981).
The LA PALMA has the following main particulars: 894 GRT, 514 Net tons, 1,503 tons displacement, 67 meters length overall, 64,10 m bpp, 9,15 m breadth, 5,95 m depth. She was fitted with a triple expansion steam engine developing 965 SHP ( 140 NHP), a single screw ship, she had a speed of 11 knots. The LA PALMA had accommodation for 190 passengers.
She was compleed by the builders in April 1912 and first arrived at Las Palmas on 24 April. The first call in Tenerife was on 5 May 1912. In 1930 she was sold to Trasmediterranea and in 1951 was fitted to burn oil instead of coal. Her long working career ended on 24 September 1976 when she was laid up in Las Palmas being sold the following 12 November to Mr Juergen Flick.
The idea was to convert the LA PALMA into a club at the Marina de Las Palmas but this was not to bee and the ship deteriorated in time. In 1986 the owner offered the ship to the Cabildo de Tenerife and this led to a reaction from the Ayuntamiento de Las Palmas. Nevertheless the ship was towed to Tenerife and is being restored.
For recent news and photos of the LA PALMA in Tenerife click here and enjoy the Sérgio Blogue.
Texto e imagens /Text and images copyright L.M.Correia. For other posts and images, check our archive at the right column of the main page. Click on the photos to see them enlarged. Thanks for your visit and comments. Luís Miguel Correia