German shipping line started between Germany and Gran Canaria according to the Dutch newspaper Leeuwarder nieuwsblad dated 2 April 1938

An item reported that the German shipping company Oldenburg-Portugiesische Dampfschiffreederei at Hamburg, Germany commissioned the two new turbine ships Santa Cruz and Gran Canaria. Their purpose was to transport bananas from the Canary Islands towards Hamburg. On their outward bound voyages was the intention to transport potatoes and so on from the Netherlands towards Portugal and North Africa.