Our story

1936 marks the beginning of ETE's history, through the creation of “Empresa de Tráfego e Estiva, S.A.” — the first Portuguese company to specialise in the port operation of loading and unloading ships offshore. Founded by Commander Luiz de Figueiredo, grandfather of the current shareholder, ETE introduced at the time an innovative solution aimed at improving the speed of unloading operations in Portuguese ports which, due to their congestion and consequent high usage costs, resulted in high costs and delays for shipowners and ships. Later, ETE would give rise to Grupo ETE, as a result of the acquisition of other companies in the sector.

Start of Grupo ETE's activity in Offshore Bulk Unloading operations.
Being a pioneer in this type of operations, it brought an innovative solution and numerous advantages both for the Group's businesses and its clients, reducing the costs and waiting times for ships.

Grupo ETE becomes a pioneer in operations with floating cranes in Portugal,
acquiring the first equipment of this type in Germany. The current cranes, Vigorosa and Poderosa, continue to support river operations on the Tagus River to this day.

Grupo ETE introduced the first standardised barges, putting into service
pushers that replace traditional tugboats. In the same year, the crane Mestre Janota was acquired, which today supports port operations in Colombia.

Start of Grupo ETE's activity in the TMS — Sines Multipurpose Terminal —
especially oriented towards the unloading and dispatch of coal for the EDP thermal power plants in Sines and Tejo Energia in Pego. However, given the characteristics of the terminal, the concession and operation of it allowed ETE to include the handling of other types of bulk and general cargo.

Acquisition of the local traffic shipowner Socarmar, specialised in various types
of operations and port logistics services.

Resumption of Navigation to the Archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira with Vieira & Silveira.

Formal constitution of Grupo ETE, resulting from the expansion of activity and the portfolio of companies, and internationalization to Mozambique through the first cabotage company, which remains active today under the designation ETE Logística.

Acquisition of the company Transinsular — Transportes Marítimos Insulares, SA. — by Grupo ETE. An operation that made the Group the largest national shipowner, giving new horizons to its operations and businesses. Integrated into Grupo ETE, Transinsular gained the capacity to offer transport solutions that include integrated services and intermodality.

Significant expansion of Grupo ETE's national port concession network, giving the Group an extensive presence in the main Portuguese ports, namely Leixões, Lisbon, Setúbal, and Sines.

Grupo ETE takes an important step towards business efficiency by reorganising its corporate structure and creating the so-called shared services – current Corporate Departments – responsible for standardising and providing legal, human resources, IT, accounting, and management control services. Today, the Group also has additional Corporate Departments for Communication and Brand and Business Development. These departments are responsible for ensuring these services for all the Group's companies.

Grupo ETE strengthens its fleet in Mozambique.

The creation of ETE Logística allowed the Group to consolidate its leadership in containerised cargo handling and reinforce its presence throughout the logistics chain, whether in the transport of goods by sea, land, and air, or in warehouse management.

This year marks the beginning of Grupo ETE's international expansion in South America, with the start of operations in Uruguay. Experts in river transport, Grupo ETE, through the company Transfluvial, of which it is a shareholder, is responsible for one of the largest timber log transportation operations on the Uruguay River, for one of the world's leading pulp mills, Montes del Plata. A milestone that also reinforces its commitment to environmental sustainability.

Strengthening Grupo ETE's presence in South America, with the start of operations in Colombia, through the company ETE SAS, dedicated to river transport and support of port operations on the Magdalena River, in the ports of Barranquilla, Cartagena, and others.

Navaltagus, a company of Grupo ETE, initiates an innovative and Portuguese project, constructing the Group's first tugboat-pusher – “Baía do Seixal”, which is still in service today, supporting river and port operations. The vessel has a shallow draft, reduced length, and high power, allowing operations in narrow, winding, and shallow areas of the river.

Acquisition of Grupo ETE's first tanker ship – São Jorge, responsible for fuel supply to the entire Autonomous Region of the Azores.

Construction of the multi-craft workboat “Punta Tigre”, at Grupo ETE's Navaltagus Shipyard, with the aim of supporting Transfluvial operations in Uruguay.
Subsequently, a new workboat was also built with the same characteristics – “Cachão da Valeira” – which supports the operations of the Administration of the Port of Douro, Leixões, and Viana do Castelo.

Grupo ETE, through Transinsular, wins the public service concession for inter-island passenger and cargo transport in Cape Verde for 20 years.
The concession led to the creation of the concessionaire company CV Interilhas, a company under Cape Verdean law.

Creation of ETE Logistixx, aimed at responding to logistical exchanges in Northern Europe and the Benelux countries. Result of a joint venture between Grupo ETE and the Belgian company Steelduxx.

With the aim of extending Grupo ETE's international reach, Grupo ETE formalised a new joint venture operation with the Belgian SteelDuxx and new partners SevenLog (Ghana) and TST Japan (Japan), creating NANAMI Shipping BV. A logistics operator whose mission is to bring markets closer and foster trade between Asia, Europe, and Africa.

To strengthen its international position in the area of Navigation and Logistics, Grupo ETE opens offices in Dubai, UAE, as a result of a constant focus on new markets, opportunities, and innovation.
Navex Maritime Services is thus an expansion of Navex – Empresa Portuguesa de Navegação, which is part of Grupo ETE and whose mission is to develop business locally, in the scope of maritime agency (including Cruises and Super Yachts) and also in the logistics field, offering integrated solutions for any part of the world.

Reorganization of the logistics operations business area, leading the Group to open offices in Europe, namely in Spain and the UK. The companies ETE Logística Spain and ETE Logística UK were created, with their own offices in the cities of Seville, Badajoz, Valencia and Manchester respectively.

In 2020, the Group won an international public tender launched by the Municipality of Aveiro for the construction of a 100% electric ferryboat to operate the passenger river crossing between Forte da Barra and São Jacinto, in Aveiro.
The new ferryboat, with ZERO CO2 emissions, was built entirely in Portugal, at Grupo ETE's Navaltagus Shipyard, and boasts Portuguese naval design and architecture. A unique project that positions Grupo ETE's engineering and shipbuilding as unrivalled in the national and international markets.

After inaugurating Ponta Delgada Logistics Platform in São Miguel, Azores, in 2020, Grupo ETE increased its temperature-controlled warehouse capacity, now offering more than 4,000m2. This effective response to market conditions will boost the transaction of refrigerated cargo – especially in terms of import and export – with a special focus on dairy products, meats, and other fresh products from the region.

The Castanheira do Ribatejo river terminal is a new logistics infrastructure project aimed at removing up to 400 trucks per day from Lisbon's roads by using the River Tagus to container transportation. Named as the First Gate of Lisbon, will be located next to the Lisbon North Logistics Platform and will have the capacity to handle up to four barges and more than 2,500 tonnes of cargo per day. The new terminal is a partnership between Grupo ETE and Pousadinha Group, representing an investment of €11 million. It's expected to create around 250 jobs.