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Astilleros Españoles (AESA)

The 1960s accelerated the increase in the size of ships, due to the incessant international demand for oil and the political instability of the Suez Canal. The demand for larger vessels soared. The European and Asian shipyards adapted its facilities and production techniques to be able to manufacture these products. In this scenario emerged Astilleros Españoles S.A. [Shipyards Spaniards AESA] as a result of the merger of the largest national shipbuilding companies. On December 1, 1969 AESA was constituted by the merger of three companies: La Compañía Euskalduna de Construcción Naval [Euskalduna Shipbuilding Company] , la Sociedad Española de Construcción Naval [Spanish society for Naval Construction] and Astilleros de Cádiz [Shipyards of Cádiz]. These companies had many factories in various parts of the Spanish geography, becoming the largest Spanish naval producer and one of the first companies at the international level.

Since its inception AESA wanted to coordinate the different factories of construction in Bilbao and Cadiz. In the case of the Cadiz Bay the priority was the construction of a new shipyard in the vicinity of the factory of Matagorda, in Port Royal. A project affecting as Cádiz which was to become a centre of repairs leaving the construction. Until that arrived, the old factories of Antonio Lopez and Murguía would reduce activity until, in the first cessation and, in the second became a scheduled repair center.

The Cádiz shipyard would continue building larger vessels, to not neglect a market in which it was present. Plans, little by little, ended up carried out. Five years after the establishment of AESA, the shipyard in Cadiz ceased building ships and its manpower and machinery last to join the new center of Port Royal. Even the first construction of the shipyard of Puerto Real, the tanker Aragon, had been a contract of the shipyard in Cadiz.

However for some time, until the full operation of the new shipyard of Puerto Real, the prefabricated new construction continued in Cadiz and then moved to Port Royal. On the other hand, the conversion of the shipyard in Cadiz at repair centre had its first visible effect at the beginning of construction of the new dam at the end of 1971. But until that time, the stands of the shipyard in Cadiz, which had become a single 301 meters long by 54 wide, continued hosting helmets of large tankers. Up to thirteen, 79-120 thousand gross registered tonnes, they arbolaron from 1970 to 1976. This past year, with the launch of the ''Maria Alejandra ", can be said that the cycle of construction started in 1891 with the gunboat ''Philippines".

The first ship launched in this new stage as Spanish shipyard was the "Ocean Lion", hired by the Liberian Star Navigation Company. This tanker, 151,000 tonnes, put her keel when there was still ASCASA and she was launched in February 1970, following the establishment of AESA. As it has been seen since the time of the creation of AESA was thought in turn the Cadiz factory in one of the largest centers of repair of Europe. However, for the moment, continued launching constructions to the sea until the completion of the new shipyard which was going to work on the other Bank of the Bay. Between 1970 and 1975 by the stand of the Cadiz shipyard, as well as the "Ocean Lion", is pushed the helmets of eleven oil workers. After major construction was interrupted. Until 1979 the factory made various artifacts such as dredging or floating docks. The last keel was the bauxite barge "bissaruni", launched on December 22, 1980.

After 30 years and many vicissitudes the AESA society was dissolved in July 2000 to make way for a new merger with Bazan, from which emerged the Group IZAR.