CargO OF THE MAIDEN VOYAGE
On her maiden voyage, from Goa to Lisbon, in addition to a wide variety of cargo, such as silk scarves, linen and towels from Diu, coffee, wax candles, coir thread, coir rope, round pepper, saltpetre and pachari rice, she also carried a zoological collection for the King, twelve large boxes with plants for Benguela, a tin of Indian seeds, a red parrot for the Minister of the Navy, an alligator, three coffins and a tin of drugs for the president of the Naval Health Board.
fire
On 3 April 1963, as welding works were being carried out to repair a diesel tank, some pieces of burning material fell onto the wooden deck and caused the ship to catch fire. It all happened just before 5:00 pm. There were 137 young students on board the Frigate, which was then home to a welfare institution, and all of them escaped alive, with only a few minor burns.
As soon as the alarm was raised, the Cacilhas and Almada Fire Brigade wasted no time and took its 'Denis' fire-fighting pumps to the Cacilhas pier. These pumps were then loaded onto the ferry 'Setubalense' together with the first men who started fighting the fire.
One of these men, fireman Severiano Coelho Durão, was the first to hold the nozzle that 'shot' the first water into the burning ship.
Another fireman, António Pimenta Pereira, was among those who most promptly fought the flames, quickly taking over the sailboat.
While the ship was burning, three firemen and two tugboat masters decided to save the National Flag, which was hoisted on the respective mast, from the flames. While the tugboat masters moved the halyard to lower the Flag, the three firemen, standing in line and saluting, at risk of being hit by the flames, paid the due honours to the National Flag, used for the last time on the old ship.
CONSTRUCTION
The Frigate was built in the Royal Shipyards of Daman, and there were several reasons for that:
1.. The cost of labour was lower than in Portugal.
2.. Those shipyards were rather experienced and
successful.
3.. It was suggested that the construction should be
financed by the profits from the tobacco trade and some contribution from the
Macao Government.
4.. In the enclave of Nagar Aveli, near Daman, there
was a large forest of teak wood, one of the best woods for shipbuilding.
It is known that more than 3,700 trees were cut down in this forest for the construction of the ship.
relative seniority
The International Register of Historic Ships, a publication sponsored by the World Ship Trust, states that D. Fernando was the fourth Navy Frigate and the eighth oldest sailing warship in the world.