The La Palma was commissioned by the Compañía de Vapores Correos Interinsulares Canarios, a subsidiary of the British shipping line Elder Dempster. She was built in Middlesbrough, England, at the Harkess & Son Ltd. shipyard, where she was launched on February 12, 1912. She arrived in the Canary Islands later that year and started her inter-island service. La Palma is known as a correíllo referring to a “mail ship” moving mail, cargo, and people between the islands. For 64 years, the La Palma sailed between the Canary Islands, offering three classes of travel. In 1930, the company was absorbed by Spanish ferry company Trasmediterránea, which continued to operate the ship through the Spanish Civil War and World War II. A technical breakdown in 1976 finally forced her retirement when one of her boilers blew up. Efforts to turn her into a restaurant and museun in Las Palmas, Gran Canaria failed and she was towed to Santa Cruz the Tenerife in 1986 to be restored. When the local yard went bankrupt she sat there for an incredible 22 years!
