Last modified: 2004-10-02 by ivan sache
Keywords: compagnie meridionale de navigation | lozenge (white) | letters: cmn (red) | rastit |
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![[Compagnie Meridionale de Navigation house flag]](../images/f/fr~hfcmn.gif)
by
Jorge Candeias
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In 1931, the brothers Henri and Félix Rastit married the daughters of the shipowner Gianonni, from Cassano, in the Balagne region (northern Corsica), and founded the Compagnie Méridionale de Navigation. Initially, the company operated a coastal line between Marseilles and Agde (Languedoc), with the small wooden ship SS Canigou, of Norwegian origin. In 1936, the company bought in the Netherlands a similar ship, MS Brescou, and extended its line to Port-Vendres (Roussillon) via the other ports of Languedoc. The ship was seized by Italy in 1942, renamed Aprile, and lost on a mine off Tunis in December 1942.
In 1937, the CMN started to transport oil products and bulk cargoes from
continental France to Corsica. The company also operates ro-ro ferries
since 1970.
After the war, the company resumed its service, opening scheduled lines
to Corsica and Algeria. When the Algerian line was suppressed following
the independence of Algeria, th