The president of Baleària, Adolfo Utor, has addressed an internal communication to the staff of Baleària, Naviera Armas, and Compañía Trasmediterránea to convey his vision regarding the acquisition operation of Naviera Armas Trasmediterránea's activities in the Canary Islands and Alborán, as well as the 50% of the Algeciras-Tánger Med route. In the letter, dated April 7 in Dénia, Utor indicates that the operation already has the positive pronouncement of the National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) for the Canary Islands and the Strait, pending resolution on the Alborán area and the final administrative steps with the Ministry of Economy. The president of the Valencian shipping company trusts that the process will be definitively formalized in early May.
The operation, whose purchase contract was signed on August 25, 2025, involves the integration of a workforce of 1,500 people and the management of 15 vessels. Utor describes the acquisition as a historic moment where three legacies of the Spanish merchant marine converge: Compañía Trasmediterránea, founded in 1917; Naviera Armas, in 1941; and Baleària, in 1998.
In his communication, the president of Baleària emphasizes that this is not a conventional acquisition where one corporate culture prevails over the others, but a real integration based on loyalty, humility, and mutual trust, where each party contributes its baggage. Utor indicates that the success of this project depends on Spain having a national shipping company capable of leading national cabotage and traffics with North Africa.
Among the lines of work he proposes for the new phase, the president of Baleària mentions reputation, digitalization, modernization of the fleet, and team training as key areas to regain competitiveness. Additionally, the communication explicitly refers to the brand "Baleària Canarias" as the denomination under which the shipping company will operate in the Canary archipelago, with the commitment to become the reference company serving the economy and progress of the island's citizens, in similar terms to the position that Baleària currently occupies in the Balearic Islands and on routes with North Africa.
Utor's communication occurs on the same day that Naviera Armas has called an extraordinary general meeting for May 8, the agenda of which includes items directly related to the formalization of the purchase contracts with Baleària Eurolíneas Marítimas and with entities of the Bahía de las Isletas Group, as well as the authorization for the transfer of several vessels.
The CNMC authorized the operation in the Canary Islands at the end of March with conditions, including the maintenance of current capacities and frequencies, an investment of 25 million euros over three years to improve the acquired fleet, the reactivation of the Morro Jable-Las Palmas route, and the monitoring of prices. In the Strait of Gibraltar, the regulatory agency authorized the operation without commitments as no risks to competition were detected.