Guest post by Bryan O’Mahoney

The Clavero is the oldest boat still navigating the Amazon River. She was built by Claparede Freres in Paris France in 1876. 

The Clavero was one of the most important naval ships of the Peruvian Amazon. She was used for military services to protect Peru’s frontiers, she explored many of the unknown tributaries, and she supplied vital communication through her mail delivery. She now navigates the Amazon in her former glory and reminds all of the importance of naval steam boats for the security and services they so gracefully provided.

Facilities of the restored Clavero Amazon cruise boat

Accommodation includes 6 twin cabins fitted with air conditioning, wardrobe and private bathrooms with showers.

A large dining hall is used for meals, and houses a bar and library with classic books on the Amazon. You can also view the riverbanks, villages and wildlife directly from the roof-deck.

The Clavero is 28 metres long and 5 metres wide and has two main decks and an upper viewing area. The boat uses one main diesel engine and two generators.

The Clavero is used for expeditions to the Pacaya-Samiria National Reserve and the Yavari river, as a scientific research vessel transporting and accommodating biologists, school groups, university students, volunteers and ecotourists.

The Clavero is always accompanied by one or two auxiliary skiffs, allowing you to make frequent excursions from the main boat to get deeper into the lakes and narrow tributaries of the river system.

History and restoration of the Clavero

Originally named Cahuapanas, she was a Peruvian naval ship of the first Amazonian fleet. She was used by the Peruvian military during their victorious campaign to expel the invasion of Ecuador on the Napo River in 1903. She was commissioned in 1905 by the joint Peruvian-Brazilian exploration of the upper Purus River to settle their frontiers, captained by D. Numa P. Leon.

In the 1930’s she was purchased by Luis F. Morey and her name was changed to Clavero in recognition of the most famous naval hero of the Peruvain Amazon, Teniente Primero Manuel Clavero.

In the following decades the Clavero worked the rivers around Iquitos as a barge.
She was acquired and restored by AmazonEco between 2007-2009, ensuring that the oldest boat on the Amazon will see many more years of service. We see this as the best way to pay tribute to her heroic military heritage and distinguished naval services.

In her various forms and uses, the Clavero has been a constant on the Peruvian Amazon since the days preceding the rubber boom.

Guest post by Bryan O’Mahoney

Follow the course of history on the restored Amazon river boat Clavero, since 1876

If you would like to follow the course of history with a cruise on the Clavero contact Bill Grimes, president of Dawn on the Amazon Tours and Cruises by emailing, bill @ dawnontheamazon . com

Tagged as: amazon riverboat, Clavero