Francisco Merelo Barberà Beltrán came from a family closely linked to the maritime and diplomatic sphere: his father held the position of vice consul of France and worked as a ship consignee (Díaz, 2018). Francisco passed a competitive examination in 1936 to enter the corps of State commercial officers, although in 1954, at his own request, he was officially declared separated from the technical corps of commerce(BOE-1954-217). Following in his father's footsteps, he inherited his interest in navigation and developed an active career as a shipowner. In 1952 he acquired the steamship Sagunto from the renowned shipowner Enrique Freixas, renaming it Enrique Maynes. This vessel operated mainly on routes between Barcelona and Portuguese ports such as Lisbon and Setúbal, transporting potash. It also supplied the Catalan industry with coal, which it loaded in ports in the north of Spain and, sporadically, in Marseilles. It also maintained frequent routes between Barcelona and the Balearic Islands (Betanzos, 2012). Although he resided in Madrid, he maintained business interests in Barcelona and held the position of chancellor of the French consulate (Díaz, 2018). In October 1965, he was authorized to occupy a strip of the maritime-terrestrial zone at Punta del Milagro, in Tarragona, for the purpose of building a tourist-sports complex for public use(BOE-A-1965-20177).