It was a remarkable day in Lisbon. Hundreds of people gathered along the docks of Rocha do Conde de Óbidos, in Alcântara, to witness the launch of two newly built ships: Santa Maria Manuela and Creoula. For the occasion, the shipyards of Companhia União Fabril (CUF) closed their doors, allowing employees to attend the ceremony.
Workers climbed the gantry cranes and lined the banks of the Tagus river, filling the harbor with anticipation. Everyone wanted to see the launch of these twin vessels, built in just 62 days and destined for the cod fisheries of Newfoundland and Greenland.
The ceremony was a solemn and prestigious event, attended by the Head of State and several ministers, and marked a singular achievement for the Portuguese naval industry.
Vasco Albuquerque d’Orey was the shipowner of the company Empresa de Pesca de Viana and commissioned the construction of the Santa Maria Manuela at the CUF shipyards. Built with a steel hull—an important feature at the time—she was designed to navigate demanding, ice-filled seas. The vessel was christened in honour of the shipowner’s wife, Maria Manuela, mother of sixteen children, whose name she proudly bears to this day.
Santa Maria Manuela was built for the cod fisheries. Departures for the fishing grounds of Newfoundland and Greenland were deeply emotional occasions, when families gathered on the quayside to bid farewell, often in the presence of senior figures from both the Church and the Government.
The tears of relatives stood in sharp contrast to the fishermen’s sense of expectation and resolve, as they set sail with hopes of returning to Portugal with the ship’s holds full of cod. For these men, fishing was not merely an occupation, but their only means of livelihood.
On the deck of Santa Maria Manuela were 50 dories—small, flat-bottomed fishing boats. At the captain’s command, “Let us lower these boats, and may God be with us,” they were launched one by one into the water.
Each dory carried a single fisherman. Once on the frozen seas, every man followed his own fate, guided only by a rudder or a small sail. Some drifted miles away from the ship, vanishing into dense fog. For up to 13 consecutive hours, the fishermen remained alone at sea, casting hundreds of metres of baited line in the hope of a good catch.
When conditions were favourable, a single fisherman could haul in as much as half a tonne of cod in one day. Accounts tell of dories sinking under the sheer weight of their catch, a testament to the determination and endurance of the men.
Back on board, the fishermen would take a brief meal—soup, fish, and a mug of wine—before setting to work scaling and salting the cod. Santa Maria Manuela would only begin the return voyage once her holds were completely full. “The moment when the national flag was hoisted and the journey back to Portugal began was the happiest day on board,” recalled Captain Vitorino Ramalheira.
On the deck of Santa Maria Manuela followed dozens of dory boats – small boats of flat bottom. These vessels were only lowered onto the waters after the captain checked the necessary conditions and gave the order: “Let us lower these boats and may God be with us.” Each dory boat carried one fisherman. After touching the frozen seas each man followed his own destiny with the help of rudders or a small sail. Sometimes they sailed miles away from the SMM and disappeared amidst the heavy fog. The fishermen spent 13 consecutive hours on the dory boats and launched hundreds of metres of line with hooks and bait into the water. If all went well a single fisherman could fish half a ton of codfish. There are reports of dory boats that sank with excess weight, such was the will and enthusiasm of the fishermen. Upon their return on board men had dinner – soup, fish and a mug of wine – and proceeded to scale and salt the codfish. SMM would only return home when the ship’s holds were full of fish. “The moment when the national flag was hoisted and the journey back to Portugal began was the happiest day on board”, captain Vitorino Ramalheira recalls.
Vasco Albuquerque d’Orey was the shipowner of the company Empresa de Pesca de Viana who commissioned the Santa Maria Manuela in the CUF shipyards.
The hull is made of steel, which enabled the ship to sail through ice-filled seas.
The ship was baptised with the name of the wife of the shipowner, Maria Manuela, who gave the family 16 children.
Over the years, Santa Maria Manuela underwent several structural changes, reflecting the evolution of the fishing industry—from the removal of her masts to the installation of a navigation bridge. These adaptations marked a period of transition that would ultimately signal the end of traditional line fishing and the use of dories.
In 1993, the ship was deemed obsolete and dismantled, leaving only her steel hull intact. The following year, the Fundação Santa Maria Manuela was created, bringing together 17 institutions with a shared objective: to restore the vessel. However, it was only in 2007, after the hull was acquired by the Pascoal group, that the full restoration project began—a process that would take four years to complete.
On 10 May 2010, marking her 73rd anniversary, the SMM sailed into the Aveiro Harbour with her sails raised and hull painted white, before docking at her new pier in Gafanha da Nazaré, home to the Pascoal company. This moment symbolised the beginning of a new chapter in the ship’s life.
In November 2016, Santa Maria Manuela was acquired by Recheio, part of the Jerónimo Martins Group. Following further modernisation, the SMM is today in excellent condition and operates as a platform for marine tourism, sail training, corporate team development programmes, onboard events, film productions, and environmental initiatives.
