Lisbon River Ferries, Part 2

Chiado, pictured in June 2005.

Aroeiro Series

This series was introduced in 1998. The catamarans were constructed by FBM Marine Ldt. on the Isle of Wight and by the Estaleiros Navais at Figueira da Foz. They carry up to 496 passengers and are 46,25 metres long (445 tons). Normal speed is 22kts (max. 30 kts).

Transtejo has also acquired smaller catamarans. These are:

Parque das Nações Series

These carry 202 passengers and were built in Norway by Lindstoels Skips & B, Risoer. They carry up to 202 people and are 27,70 metres long (224 tons). Max. spped is 30knots (normal speed 22 knots).

A one-off design is Fantasia which joined Transtejo in 2001. It was built by Brisbane Ship Constructions and carries 150 passengers. It is 26.4 meters long (78 tons). Maximum speed is 26 knots (22kts normal).

Cesário Verde Series

These are Australian built by Image Marine, are 37 metres long and carry 292 passengers at 30 knots and enetred service in 2002. They hold 292 passengers. The catamarans are 37.4 metres long, and have a crusing spped of 22kts/hr , (max. 27kts).

Damião de Goes Series

Built by Damen (Singapore), these aluminium vessels are 49.2 metres long, 713 tons and have an operating speed of 22kts (max. 30 kts). They operate the service from Terreiro do Paço to Barreiro and formerly operated under the SOFLUSA (see below) banner. Their service speed is 22km/hr but they are capable of 30km/hour.

Surviving Transtejo Ferries in Other Guises

Left to right: A car-ferry, Eborense, at Cais do Sodré (2002); the Sul e Sueste ferry terminal.

SOFLUSA Ferries

SOFLUSA for many years operated the Lisbon (Sul e Sueste) to Barreiro service to connect with railway services at Barreiro to the south of Portugal. The company is now merged with Transtejo as Transtejo-SOFLUSA and the Barreiro service is now converted to a catamaran fleet. Until 2004 SOFLUSA ran conventional ferry boats only, as listed below. Traffic is declining (down 4.7% in 2005, which SOFLUSA ascribes to the rise in the use of cars, the closure of the Cais da Alfândega in 2001 and the work on the pontoons at Terreiro do Paço which forced the transfer of the Seixal service to the less central Cais do Sodré in 2005. The advent of the Fertagus railway service has also provided a convenient alternative route to Setúbal and other towns on the southern side of the Tagus.

The only service now operated from the historic Sul e Sueste ferry terminal at the Cais da Alfandega is the one to Barreiro, operated by catamaran. This is still a fairly intensive seven-days a week service whose main purpose is to link to the railway services to southern Portugal at Barreiro.

Before withdrawal, the following SOFLUSA ships had capacity for 1000 passengers and were constructed between 1961 and 1970:

The new catamarans, named after Portuguese writers, are:

They were built by Damen Shipyards of Singapore, the first being launched in January 2003. They carry 600 passengers in two saloons, with TV, ambient music, bar and toilets. They are powered by two Hamilton motors and can reach 30 knots per hour. They measure 47 metres in length.

History of Tagus Ferries

Right: The catamaran 'Bica' and a sister-vessel at Cacilhas, 2000.

By 1957 there were three main operators; Jerónimo Rodrigues Dorã (JRD), the Empresa de Transportes Tejo (ETT) and the Sociedade Nacional de Motonaves (SNM). (SNM). The opening of the Ponte Salazar (now Ponte 25 de Abril), from 1966, provoked a loss of trade as did the turmoil and moves towards nationalisation after the 1974 Revolution. On 17 December 1975 five ferry companies were nationalised, (ETT, JRD, DVS, SNM and the Sociedade Marítima dos Transportes (SMT). These became Transtejo - Transportes Tejo (TT), a public company with 26 ferries. The CP (Railway) routes remained separately operated. Since 1994 these have been operated from Sul e Sueste to Barreiro by SOFLUSA (Sociedade Fluvial de Transportes S.A.). In 1975 TT operated services from T. do Paço to Alcochete, Cacilhas, Montijo, Seixal and Cacilhas, and from Cais do Sodré to Cacilhas, and from Belém to Trafaria and Porto Brandão, with a fleet which was now mostly old. From 1977 newly acquired vessels were introduced as was a new orange livery. In 1982 Tagus cruises began alongside the ferry services. Since 1990 the services to Seixal and Montijo have seen a growth in usage, though the new Vasco da Gama bridge and the new rail services across the Ponte 25 de Abril both threaten future growth of the ferry routes to these and other locations. The introduction of catamarans on the longer services in 1995 has helped to maintain traffic share and at least two further catamarans have been acquired in 1999/2000.

River Sado Ferries

Within an hour or so of Lisbon is the city of Setúbal where more river ferries can be seen on the River Sado. Services, operated by Transado, connect the city with the Tróia peninsula, which lies about fifteen minutes away. The fleet includes both car and passenger ferries. The city may be reached by rail or by bus from Lisbon. Pictured left is the passenger-ferry, Rio Azul at the Setúbal landing-stage and, right, the car-ferry, Mira Praia, approaching Setúbal harbour.

---

Links

Go to Lisbon River Ferries, Part 1 for present-day Trans-Tejo Lisbon ferry services and more pictures.

A superbly illustrated and designed web-site is Ian Boyle's Lisbon Ferries.

---

Reading Matter

A superbly illustrated history of the Lisbon ferryboat, with copious details of the modern fleet. The text is in both English and Portuguese.

With parallel texts in English and Portuguese, this is an attractive collection of the author's colour photographs of a wide variety of ships and boats which have visited or inhabit the Tagus near the city of Lisbon since 1975.

A comprehensive guide to traditional Lisbon river boats.