The “Venezuelan Line”, also known as “Compania Anónima Venezolana de Navegación”, came into being in 1917. The shipping line had its most important days in the 1970s and 1980s. The company acted basically as a cargo carrier. “Venezuelan Line” transported merchandise from Venezuela to Northern Europe, the USA, the Mediterranean region and Japan. The company took extraordinary pride in the “Apure”. This vessel was commissioned in the mid-1970s and was part of the fleet renewal program of the 70s. It could carry almost 13 tons of freight and was driven by a high-performance diesel engine built by MAN.
The ship could reach a maximum speed of 19.5 knots. As so many other lines, this shipping company also had to cease its operations in the 1990s. The reasons were financial losses, inefficient mongering, additional costs and difficulties in coping with the new markets.
The 1970 and 1980’s company’s history of success can still be visualized through illustrations on vintage historical postcards. Mail card lovers want to collect, amongst others illustrations, pictures of the “Apere”, the “Yaracuy”, the “Méroda”, or the “Sucre”.