[3] Originally -and for many centuries- there were only fishing activities in the beach of the small coastal village now called Merca.

The "Giuliana Fassio" and other ships (from Italy to Somalia) mainly transported mechanical equipment, furniture, household appliances such as refrigerators and the first washing machines, cars and wine.

Not even here there was a real port and the boarding took place with the use of maone and the strength of the arms of a hundred Somalis who in a relatively short time and under the supervision of the crew carried out an operation that it was less simple than one might imagine, given the precautions that had to be taken to ensure that the bananas, once stowed with a specific criterion, reach their destination in the best possible way.

Then another stop in Chisimaio, an important coastal emporium and crossroads of many communication routes that led to the large plantations in the interior of the country.

Here the loading of the ship was completed and the first passengers of the return journey were embarked (in Chisimaio & Merca), to which would be added those who were waiting to board in Mogadishu[7].The banana commerce continued in the first years after the war, mainly during the decade (1950-1960) of Italian Trusteeship of Somalia.