Santo André was a side trawler of the Portuguese cod fleet, and since 2001 it became an extension of the Maritime Museum of Ílhavo, intending to illustrate this type of fishing method.
It was built in 1948 in the Netherlands, and a local ship-owner commissioned it. At the time it was a modern ship with 71,49 meters of length and with a capacity of about 1200 tons of fish. As in the ’80s, there were restrictions concerning overseas fishing, reducing the Portuguese fleet drastically, Santo André ended its activity on 21st August 1997.
The ship-owner and the Municipality of Ílhavo decided to transform the old trawler Santo André in a museum. Opened on the 23rd August 2001, the ship Santo André started a new cycle of its life: to show the trawlers cod-fishing to the present and future generations while honouring the memory of those who worked aboard during its half-century of activity. Seamen feel and believe that ships have a life and deserve to be preserved because they keep stories, memories and identities of their community and the Maritime Museum of Ílhavo embraces this belief, making of Santo André a public and accessible space.