“LAUNCHED – TUNA SEINER ‘GRANADA’ LARGEST YET – ‘This is a prime example of a fishing vessel that can get there fastest with the mostest.’
With these words, Mr. George J. Soares, President of CAMPBELL INDUSTRIES, yesterday ordered the launching of the ‘GRANADA’, largest (to date) in a series of high-seas tuna superseiners (i.e. extremely large ‘Super Seiners’, a term Mr. Soares coined some time ago – ed.) built by the company. Mrs. Diane DeSilva Grant, sponsor and daughter of the ship’s Manager/Owner Mr. JAMES S. DeSILVA JR., smashed a bottle of champagne on the $3.6 million (equivalent to $21,950,545 today – ed.) vessel, and the latter slipped into the water amid music and shouts from the more than 500 persons who attended the ceremony at the company’s compound at the foot of Eighth Avenue. According to Soares, the new clipper is the first ‘increased-size version’ of the company-built superseiners. The ‘Granada’ is 236′ long, 41′ wide, and has a carrying capacity of approximately 1,400 tons of tuna, compared with the 1,200-ton payloads of her predecessors (i.e. 16.6% more – ed.). But company officials said the ‘Granada’ will *cease* to be the largest superseiner within 6 months or so, because now being built by the company is a still unnamed superseiner with a length of 250′! ‘These ships will create ripples in all fishing shores of the world because of their size, their speed, their capacity, and their efficiency,’ said Soares. ‘The longer design allows the vessel to carry an additional 10,000 gallons of fuel oil in her double bottom, substantially increasing her operating range,’ Campbell officials said.”
(*Source: San Diego UNION newspaper – Sunday, June 30, 1974 – Pg. 21)