The Fabre Line or Compagnie Française de Navigation à Vapeur Cyprien Fabre & Compagnie was a French

shipping line A shipping line or shipping company is a company whose line of business is ownership and operation of ships. Shipping companies provide a method of distinguishing ships by different kinds of cargo: # Bulk cargo is a type of special cargo that is ...

formed in 1881 by Cyprien Fabre. It began operating a small fleet of sailing ships in 1865. Its ports of call included New York, NY; Providence, RI; Boston, MA; Ponta Delgada, Madeira, and Lisbon, Portugal; Piraeus and Salonica, Greece; Algiers, Algeria; Beirut, Lebanon; Naples and Palermo, Italy; Alexandria, Egypt; Jaffa and Haifa, Palestine; Constantinople, Turkey; Monaco; and Marseilles, France. In 1886, the James W. Elwell & Co., became the agents of the Fabre Line of freight and passenger steamers between Mediterranean ports and New York. In April 1911, the James W. Elwell & Co., as general agents of the Fabre Line, announced that the line has launched a mail, passenger and freight service between New York and

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. This new service opened up Portugal and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Tourism in the United States In the United States, tourism is a large industry that serves millions of international and domestic tourists yearly. Foreigners visit the U.S. to see natural wonders, cities, historic landmarks, and entertainment venues. Americans seek simil ...

. In June 1911, Fabre Line

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

s began trans-Atlantic service to India Point in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...

. Between June 30, 1912, and June 30, 1913, Fabre brought almost 12,000 mostly Italian and Portuguese immigrants to Providence's Lonsdale Dock. The route was so popular that Fabre built an additional pier in 1914. Service continued until 1934. The Fabre Line was the only transatlantic route to southern New England. On 21 May 1930 the Fabre Line's SS ''Asia'', having brought 700 Algerian pilgrims to

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

for the

Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

and then loaded some 1,500 pilgrims, c. 1,200 of them Yemenis returning to

Aden Aden () is a port city located in Yemen in the southern part of the Arabian peninsula, on the north coast of the Gulf of Aden, positioned near the eastern approach to the Red Sea. It is situated approximately 170 km (110 mi) east of ...

and c. 300 from French Somaliland returning to

Djibouti Djibouti, officially the Republic of Djibouti, is a country in the Horn of Africa, bordered by Somalia to the south, Ethiopia to the southwest, Eritrea in the north, and the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden to the east. The country has an area ...

, caught fire in

Jeddah Jeddah ( ), alternatively transliterated as Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; , ), is a List of governorates of Saudi Arabia, governorate and the largest city in Mecca Province, Saudi Arabia, and the country's second largest city after Riyadh, located ...

harbour. At least 112 pilgrims died, possibly many more. It became the Compagnie Générale de

Navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the motion, movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navig ...

à Vapeur in 1933 under the helm of Jean Alfred Fraissinet. Jean Alfred Fraissinet, owner of the Nouvelle Société Maritime de Navigation à Vapeur (Compagnie Fraissinet) married Mathilde Cyprien-Fabre. In 1930, the two shipping firms, as well as a third line, integrated operations to mutually increase their commercial competitiveness.

References

{{Authority control French companies established in 1881 Shipping companies of France Cruise lines Transatlantic shipping companies