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Bérengier - Gianonni - Rastit (Shipping company, France)

History of Bérengier - Gianonni - Rastit
House flags of Bérengier - Gianonni - Rastit

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History of Bérengier - Gianonni - Rastit

It is convenient to present the three shipowners Bérengier, Gianonni and Rastit under a common heading, since their respective careers are tightly interlaced. Rastit, the founder of the Compagnie Méridionale de Navigation was Gianonni's son-in-law, whereas Bérengier and Rastit were associates.

In the beginning of the XXth century, Berengier operated a small sailing ship with an auxiliary engine in order to ship his products to Rabat and Salé (Morocco). In 1928, he set up an alliance with Gianonni and they bought SS Général-Dodds to operate a scheduled line to Oran (Algeria) and eastern Morocco. Although very old (1882), the ship was very successful but was deemed too small and put out to scrap and replaced by SS Sebaa (Arabic, lion) in 1931. The company bought another, smaller ship, SS Boudjmel (Arabic, camel) and set up a scheduled line between Marseilles, Sète, Nice and Oran.
SS Sebaa was seized by Italy, renamed Forli, and sunk by a British submarine near Palermo (Sicily) in 1943, whereas SS Boudjmel was scuttled in the port of Oran in 1942.
Having completely lost their fleet, the two associates ended their alliance and founded separately two new companies, with the support of bigger shipping companies.

Bérengier was supported by the Union Industrielle et Maritime (UIM), which gave him one of its ships in 1946 and allowed him to rename her MS Boudjmel. Bérengier bought or was given by the UIM a series of small cargo ships, including MS Colomb-Béchar, which was sold to the Navy in 1965 for the Nuclear Trials Center in the Pacific Ocean. The ship was renamed Tarn and sunk in 1970 as a target. The independence of Algeria disrupted Bérengier's activity and his whole fleet was purchased by UIM in 1968.

Gianonni, helped by Worms and the Compagnie Méridionale de Navigation owned by his son-in-law Rastit, founded two small companies, Compagnie Marseillaise de Navigation Gianonni and Armement Gianonni-Rastit. In 1971, Gianonni attempted to open a line in New Caledonia with MS Nemours, renamed Capitaine-Tasman, but the line was not successful and Giannoni ceased operations.

Source: Paul Bois. Armements marseillais - Compagnies de navigation et navires à vapeur (1831-1988), published by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Marseille-Provence [boi03].

Ivan Sache, 24 February 2004

House flags of Bérengier - Gianonni - Rastit

Armement Bérengier

by Ivan Sache

Bérengier's first house flag, used from 1946 to 1951, is white with four triangles in the corners, blue at hoist and red at fly, and a black B and a camel (indeed a dromadary) in the white field. The camel recalls the name of Bérengier's first ship, MS Boudjmel (Arabic, camel).

by Ivan Sache

From 1951 onwards, Bérengier uses a flag diagonally divided yellow-blue with the white letters A B C placed from the upper hoist to the lower fly. The letters stand for Armement Bérengier & Cie.

Source: Paul Bois. Armements marseillais - Compagnies de navigation et navires à vapeur (1831-1988), published by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Marseille-Provence [boi03].

Ivan Sache, 24 February 2004

Compagnie Marseillaise de Navigation Gianonni

by Ivan Sache

The house flag of Compagnie Marseillaise de Navigation Gianonni is horizontally divided blue-white-blue with the black letters CMNG in the white stripe.

Source: Paul Bois. Armements marseillais - Compagnies de navigation et navires à vapeur (1831-1988), published by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Marseille-Provence [boi03].

Ivan Sache, 24 February 2004

Armement Gianonni-Rastit

by Ivan Sache

The house flag of Armement Gianonni-Rastit is blue with a white diamond charged with the red, interlaced letters GR.

Source: Paul Bois. Armements marseillais - Compagnies de navigation et navires à vapeur (1831-1988), published by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Marseille-Provence [boi03].

Ivan Sache, 24 February 2004