Studies and Proposals for the Development and Use of the Romanian Merchant Fleet during Peacetime and Wartime (1938-1940)

"After becoming an independent state, which was followed by the return of Dobruja to the Romanian state, Romania became a littoral country. Therefore, the need arose to create, along with the Danube merchant fleet, a maritime one, with state and private capital, to contribute to the country’s budget, by transporting goods not only for domestic needs but also for the needs of other countries or companies. At the same time, it was considered necessary to build a military naval and river fleet to defend the Danube and the Black Sea, which proved useful during the National Reunification War (1916-1920), as well as to provide support for the collective security system existing in the 1930s (Romanian-Polish, Little Entente and Balkan Pact). The development of the state merchant navy in Romania dates back to 1895, when Grigore Manu was given the task of organising a maritime navigation service, an action that got materialised in a law adopted on 7/19 June 1888. The first voyage of a ship operated by the Romanian Maritime Service took place on 14/26 August 1895, when “Medeea” left Brăila for Istanbul, carrying 25 passengers and 600 tons of cargo. A few days later, on 26 August/8 September, “Meteor” made the first voyage with the same destination. Starting on 14/26 September it was to operate regular passenger transport services between Constanța and Istanbul (Ghica, 1939, pp. 149-150; Sambra, Historia)."