maiden voyage under a Romanian flag, with 25 passengers on board and 600 tons
freight. On 26 August 1895, the “Meteor” went on its first voyage on the same
route.
On 14 September 1895, as established by the Parliament, the first ConstanțaConstantinople regular maritime line for passengers was officially inaugurated. The
date also represents a historical moment for the beginnings of the Romanian
Maritime Service. In a document, issued by the Royal House, king Charles I
underlined “the functioning of Constanța port, helped by God, the establishment
of Romanian State Maritime Service as a big and decisive step in our economic
development” (“Marea Noastra ˘” 1937: 96).
On 30 October 1895, the Romanian Maritime Service was directed under the
jurisdiction of the General Direction of the Railroads. A new law set three important
characteristic for this service: (a) passenger, post and freight transportation between
the Danubian ports (from Bra ˘ila downwards) and the foreign maritime ports;
(b) passenger, post and freight transportation between the Romanian maritime
ports and the foreign maritime ones; (c) ordering and supervising the building of
foreign ships (V^ arnav 1897: 41–42).
Interested in the development of the commercial marine, King Charles I
recommended that the government should grant a new sum of money for the
building of new ships. Answering this request, Ion C. Bra ˘tianu stated: “this bill is
part of the complex political and economic plan, conceived after the union of
Dobrogea with the country and meant to offer Romania, in the Black Sea and a
European context, the place that it deserved” (Moșneagu 2008: 280) and asked the
Parliament for ten million lei. New ships were rented to ensure the continuous link
Constanța-Constantinople for the travelers that came by train from London, Paris,
and Vienna for the near East.
On 1 July 1898, the postal and passenger ship “King Charles I” started sailing,
baptized together with the “Princess Maria” ship, ex-“Ignazio Florio”, rented by the
Maritime Service, in the presence of the royal family.
The Maritime Service extended its activity, establishing the “Freight Service”,
which had in the beginning five ships: “Dobrogea”, “București”, “Iași”, “TurnuSeverin”, “Sulina” and a smaller boat “Viitorul”. The “București” cargo inaugurated the maritime line Danube-Rotterdam.
In conclusion, in spite of all the facilities, the Romanian Maritime Service was,
in the early twentieth century, still far from satisfying the needs of the Romanian
foreign commerce, the statistics showing that the trading was then under foreign
influence (Cristodorescu 1905: 138).
References
B^ ardeanu N, Nicolescu D (1979) Contribuții la istoria marinei rom^ ane [Contributions to the
history of the Romanian marine]. Vol I. Din cele mai vechi timpuri p^ ana ˘ ı
ˆn 1918 [From the
past to 1918]. Editura Științifica ˘ și Enciclopedica ˘, București
590
V. Ciorbea and N. Stanca
freight. On 26 August 1895, the “Meteor” went on its first voyage on the same
route.
On 14 September 1895, as established by the Parliament, the first ConstanțaConstantinople regular maritime line for passengers was officially inaugurated. The
date also represents a historical moment for the beginnings of the Romanian
Maritime Service. In a document, issued by the Royal House, king Charles I
underlined “the functioning of Constanța port, helped by God, the establishment
of Romanian State Maritime Service as a big and decisive step in our economic
development” (“Marea Noastra ˘” 1937: 96).
On 30 October 1895, the Romanian Maritime Service was directed under the
jurisdiction of the General Direction of the Railroads. A new law set three important
characteristic for this service: (a) passenger, post and freight transportation between
the Danubian ports (from Bra ˘ila downwards) and the foreign maritime ports;
(b) passenger, post and freight transportation between the Romanian maritime
ports and the foreign maritime ones; (c) ordering and supervising the building of
foreign ships (V^ arnav 1897: 41–42).
Interested in the development of the commercial marine, King Charles I
recommended that the government should grant a new sum of money for the
building of new ships. Answering this request, Ion C. Bra ˘tianu stated: “this bill is
part of the complex political and economic plan, conceived after the union of
Dobrogea with the country and meant to offer Romania, in the Black Sea and a
European context, the place that it deserved” (Moșneagu 2008: 280) and asked the
Parliament for ten million lei. New ships were rented to ensure the continuous link
Constanța-Constantinople for the travelers that came by train from London, Paris,
and Vienna for the near East.
On 1 July 1898, the postal and passenger ship “King Charles I” started sailing,
baptized together with the “Princess Maria” ship, ex-“Ignazio Florio”, rented by the
Maritime Service, in the presence of the royal family.
The Maritime Service extended its activity, establishing the “Freight Service”,
which had in the beginning five ships: “Dobrogea”, “București”, “Iași”, “TurnuSeverin”, “Sulina” and a smaller boat “Viitorul”. The “București” cargo inaugurated the maritime line Danube-Rotterdam.
In conclusion, in spite of all the facilities, the Romanian Maritime Service was,
in the early twentieth century, still far from satisfying the needs of the Romanian
foreign commerce, the statistics showing that the trading was then under foreign
influence (Cristodorescu 1905: 138).
References
B^ ardeanu N, Nicolescu D (1979) Contribuții la istoria marinei rom^ ane [Contributions to the
history of the Romanian marine]. Vol I. Din cele mai vechi timpuri p^ ana ˘ ı
ˆn 1918 [From the
past to 1918]. Editura Științifica ˘ și Enciclopedica ˘, București
590
V. Ciorbea and N. Stanca