The only active ship with a steam engine in Spain will return to Vigo, highlighting the maritime history of the city.
The “Hidria Segundo”, the historic cistern that was in service in the Vigo estuary during the second half of the 20th century, will return to the dock where it moored for the first time. Its owners, Jacobo Costas and Sesé Otero, in collaboration with the Traslatio Foundation, organizer of the Xacobea Iacobus Maris route, and the Vigo Port Authority have managed to join forces so that the “Hidria Segundo” can become a cultural and tourist standard. from the port of Vigo.
The location of the Portocultura wharf in O Berbés will be definitive so that this ship, the only one with an active steam engine in all of Spain, can show its operation and its history with Vigo, with visits open to the public as an information center for the Route Xacobea Iacobus Maris (www.iacobusmaris.org), center for nautical training workshops, events, as a museum or conference venue.
In the words of Mario Cardama, president of the Traslatio Foundation, “it is a historic ship that is worth recovering for the estuary and for Vigo to have something that represents what its maritime history has been, a cistern ship that has been working for many years ”.
“This activity is going to be close to the future underwater viewer that the Port Authority is going to place in the port of A Laxe and they will combine to bring tourism to the port. For the Foundation, it will also be an information center for the Iacobus Maris route, and I think it is a good place for different companies to carry out different activities, both on the roof and inside.
“As shipowners of the ‘Hidria Segundo’, Jacobo Costas and I are delighted to finally arrive at the Portocultura wharf”, affirmed Sesé Otero. “We are very happy that it is not done individually but in collaboration with the Traslatio Foundation, because that creates a synergy between the foundations, the companies and the Port of Vigo in what we see as an important heritage part of the city, something that should be for the enjoyment of all. We hope that many other companies will join and that a reference point for maritime culture will be created around the ‘Hidria’ and the Port of Vigo”.
For his part, the president of the Vigo Port Authority, Jesús Vázquez Almuiña, highlighted the importance of valuing the maritime history of the Ría de Vigo. An objective that the institution he chairs includes within its Blue Growth or Blue Growth strategy.
In this sense, the head of the port defended the need for this maritime tradition not to be lost and, to this end, recalled that the Vigo Port Authority continues to work to bring the Port closer to the city.
To this end, it is working on the creation of a historical-cultural jetty in the heart of the city, specifically in the A Laxe dock, in front of the Portocultura building, where it will facilitate the docking of the Port’s flagship ships, thus achieving way, to value the local maritime heritage, facilitating the docking of ships that are part of the city’s history, such as the Hidria or the Rías Bajas, recently renovated.
Vázquez Almuiña also recalled that, in the specific case of the steamship, it provided an important service to the Port of Vigo, since it was the one that supplied water to the ships that operated in the Ría.
The Hidria will share space with the underwater viewer contemplated in the “Livings Ports” project of the Port of Vigo, which has been a finalist for the 2022 World Sustainability Awards organized by the International Association of Ports (IAPH).
A public vote is currently open, which can be accessed from the following link: https://sustainableworldports.org/iaph-sustainability-awards-2022/vote/
In this link the public is invited to vote for their favorites among the three finalist projects for each category until April 18 at midnight. The result of the public vote (30%), together with the evaluation of the jury of experts (70%) will jointly determine the winners of the Awards, which will be delivered during the World Conference on Ports that will take place on May 17 in Vancouver (Canada).
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