MS ''Gripsholm'' was a combined

ocean liner An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). Ca ...

cruise ship Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...

, built in 1957 by

Ansaldo Shipyard Ansaldo was one of Italy's oldest and most important engineering companies, existing for 140 years from 1853 to 1993. From foundation to World War I The company was founded in 1853 as Gio. Ansaldo & C. S.A.S. by renowned players in the Geno ...

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

for the

Swedish American Line Swedish American Line ( sv, Svenska Amerika Linien, abbr. SAL) was a Swedish passenger shipping line. It was founded in December 1914 under the name Rederiaktiebolaget Sverige-Nordamerika and began ocean liner service from Gothenburg to New Y ...

for use in transatlantic traffic from

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

as well as long-distance cruising. Gripsholm 1958

In 1971 she was laid up for 3 months in Göteborg, being converted into a pure cruise ship, thus ending her Transatlantic career. In 1975 she was sold to the Karageorgis Lines, who named her MS ''Navarino'' and used her on Mediterranean routes until 1981, when she was damaged in a grounding off

Patmos Patmos ( el, Πάτμος, ) is a Greek island in the Aegean Sea. It is famous as the location where John of Patmos received the visions found in the Book of Revelation of the New Testament, and where the book was written. One of the northernmos ...

. After some repair difficulties, in 1984 the vessel became the first ship of the newly formed Regency Cruises, and was named MS ''Regent Sea''. In 1995, Regency went bankrupt, and ''Regent Sea'' was auctioned off to United States American Cruise Line, who started on a conversion to a casino ship, but which was never completed due to bankruptcy of the new owner. MS Gripsholm (1957)

In early 2001 the ship was sold for scrap and began a journey under tow to breakers in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. A Swedish plan to turn her into a

hotelship A hotelship is a passenger ship which is used for a short period as a hotel. A botel or boatel is a boat that serves as a hotel or hostel. Currently there are few permanent hotel ships. The word is a portmanteau of boat and hotel. Botels may ra ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

ran into resistance from residents, and in the meantime (June) the ship was looted by

pirate Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

s while at

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...

. On 12 July of the same year, the hulk sank in heavy seas off

Algoa Bay Algoa Bay is a maritime bay in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It is located in the east coast, east of the Cape of Good Hope. Algoa Bay is bounded in the west by Cape Recife and in the east by Cape Padrone. The bay is up to deep. The harbour c ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

External links

The Great Ocean Liners: Gripsholm (II)A Tribute to the Swedish American Line: Gripsholm 1957-1975

img title="Regent Sea"; style="text-decoration: none; height:150px;float: left; padding: 0px 3px 0px 0px;"src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/04/Regent_Sea.jpg" >

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gripsholm (1957) Ocean liners Cruise ships 1957 ships Ships built by Gio. Ansaldo & C. Ships built in Genoa Ships of Swedish American Line