MV ''Astoria'' is a ship that was constructed as the transatlantic
ocean liner ''Stockholm'' for
Swedish American Line, and rebuilt as a
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 ...
in 1993. Ordered in 1944, and commenced service in 1948, at 73 years old, she is the oldest passenger liner still sailing in deep water routes. As ''Stockholm'', she was best known for an accidental collision with
''Andrea Doria'' in July 1956, resulting in the sinking of the latter ship and 46 fatalities off the coast of
Nantucket, Massachusetts, United States.
During her seven decades of service she has passed through several owners and sailed under the names ''Stockholm'', ''Völkerfreundschaft'', ''Volker'', ''Fridtjof Nansen'', ''Italia I'', ''Italia Prima'', ''Valtur Prima'', ''Caribe'', ''Athena'', and ''Azores'' before beginning service as ''Astoria'' in March 2016. ''Astoria'' sailed with
Cruise & Maritime Voyages until 2020 when the company suspended operations due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
and was subsequently sold, but remains laid up and is again up for sale.
M/S ''Stockholm''
The ship was ordered in 1944, and launched 9 September 1946, as ''Stockholm'' by
Götaverken
Götaverken was a shipbuilding company that was located on Hisingen, Gothenburg. During the 1930s it was the world's biggest shipyard by launched gross registered tonnage. It was founded in 1841, and went bankrupt in 1989.
History
The company ...
in
Gothenburg for the
Swedish America Line (SAL). The ship was designed by Swedish American Line designer, Eric Christiansson, who worked as the technical director at parent company
Broström.
She was the fourth ship named ''Stockholm'' for Swedish American Line, but the second of the four to actually sail under the name (See:
MS ''Stockholm'' (1941)). When
''Stockholm'' III was sold to the Italians, the proceeds were initially left aside, but were later used to finance the construction of the ship after the 1941 Stockholm was sunk during the war.
At with a
gross register tonnage of 12,165, ''Stockholm'' at the time was the smallest passenger ship operating on the
North Atlantic route, but the largest passenger ship built in
Sweden, with the largest diesel propulsion unit yet built in Sweden.
Originally designed to carry a total of 395 passengers, divided between first and tourist class, and a cargo capacity of 3,000 tons. Interiors were completed by Swedish artists, including Kurt Jungstedt. When delivered, the ship would replace the aging
SS ''Drottningholm'', and run an alternating transatlantic service with
MS ''Gripsholm''.
She made he
maiden voyageon February 21, 1948, under the command of Captain Waldemar Jonsson, from Gothenburg arriving in New York on March 1.
The ''Stockholm'' would continue to sail the transatlantic route, later joined by the new
MS ''Kungsholm'' (1952). A 1953 refit expanded ''Stockholm's'' capacity to 548 people by infilling the outdoor aft and forward end of "A" Deck with passenger cabins. Due to the small size, and not handling the North Atlantic seas very well during the colder months, the Swedish American Line scheduled her for occasional cruises starting in 1953 out of
Morehead City, North Carolina
Morehead City is a port town in Carteret County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 8,661 at the 2010 census. Morehead City celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding on May 5, 2007. It forms part of the Crystal Coast.
Hist ...
cruising to
Havana
Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center. ,
Nassau, and
Bermuda
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. In February 1955, she was used to deport
Arne Pettersen, the last person to go through
Ellis Island
Ellis Island is a federally owned island in New York Harbor, situated within the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, that was the busiest immigrant inspection and processing station in the United States. From 1892 to 1954, nearly 12 mil ...
, to
Gothenburg,
Sweden. A later refit in 1956/57 added a cinema to the deck forward end of the main superstructure, and an outdoor pool aft.
With both MS ''Kungsholm'' and the new
MS ''Gripsholm'' (1957) sailing, the smaller ''Stockholm'' was started to be seen as too small and not meeting the current standards of the line. The ship was sold in May 1959 to, at the time, an unidentified German company. The ship would finish out the year sailing with Swedish American Line to New York, before being transferred in 1960 to the new company.
Collision with ''Andrea Doria''
On the night of July 25, 1956, at 11:10 pm, in heavy fog in the North
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...
off the coast of
Nantucket, ''Stockholm'' and ''
Andrea Doria
Andrea Doria, Prince of Melfi (; lij, Drîa Döia ; 30 November 146625 November 1560) was a Genoese statesman, ', and admiral, who played a key role in the Republic of Genoa during his lifetime.
As the ruler of Genoa, Doria reformed the Re ...
'' of the
Italian Line
Italian Line and from 1992 Italia Line, whose official name was Italia di Navigazione S.p.A., was a passenger shipping line that operated regular transatlantic services between Italy and the United States, and Italy and South America. During ...
collided in what was to become one of history's most notorious
maritime disasters.
Although most passengers and crew survived the collision, the larger ''Andrea Doria'' luxury liner capsized and sank the following morning. Owing to the collision, 50% of ''Andrea Doria''
lifeboats
Lifeboat may refer to:
Rescue vessels
* Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape
* Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues
* Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen
A ...
were unusable. However, a number of ships, including
SS ''Ile de France'', responded and provided assistance, which averted a massive loss of life.
Five members of ''Stockholm''s crew were killed instantly, and several more were trapped in the wrecked
bow. Despite having lost about of
freeboard
In sailing and boating, a vessel's freeboard
is the distance from the waterline to the upper deck level, measured at the lowest point of sheer where water can enter the boat or ship. In commercial vessels, the latter criterion measured relativ ...
, the crippled ''Stockholm'' helped in the rescue and ended up carrying 327 passengers and 245 crew members from ''Andrea Doria'', in addition to her own passengers and crew. After the ships had separated, and as ''Stockholm'' crew members were beginning to survey the damage, one of the crew came across
Linda Morgan, who had been thrown from her bed on ''Andrea Doria'' as the two ships collided and landed on ''Stockholm''s deck, suffering moderate but not life-threatening injuries.
After ''Andrea Doria'' sank, ''Stockholm'' sailed to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
under her own power and arrived on July 27. There, the crushed bow portion was replaced at a cost of
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
1 million three months later at
Bethlehem Shipyard
Bethlehem Steel Corporation Shipbuilding Division was created in 1905 when the Bethlehem Steel Corporation of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, acquired the San Francisco shipyard Union Iron Works. In 1917 it was incorporated as Bethlehem Shipbuilding Co ...
in
Brooklyn
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, New York. An inquiry followed the events, with a settlement reached after 6 months between the Italian Line and Swedish American Line.
Wreckage from collision
The bell
Years following the collision, ''Andrea Doria'' would become a popular dive site. In 1959, ''Stockholm''s damaged ship's bell was recovered from the wreck site. Today it is displayed onboard in the ship's lobby.
Discovery of the bow wreckage
In September 2020, New Jersey-based Atlantic Wreck Salvage announced that their ship, D/V ''Tenacious'', had discovered ''Stockholm''s bow and anchors. The divers made the confirmation based on the presence and unique style of both anchors, internal bow reinforcements, accordion-style crumpling on the wreckage in the same pattern as seen in photos of ''Stockholm'' after the collision, and the location of the wreckage near ''Andrea Doria''s final resting place.
East German ship ''Völkerfreundschaft''
On 3 January 1960, ''Stockholm'' was transferred to the
East German
East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...
government, which renamed the ship ''Völkerfreundschaft'' ("
friendship between nations") operating under the line
Deutsche Seereederei (German Shipping Company), a precursor of
Aida Cruises.
''Völkerfreundschaft'' made her new maiden voyage on February 23, 1960, and was home-ported in
Rostock
Rostock (), officially the Hanseatic and University City of Rostock (german: link=no, Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock), is the largest city in the German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and lies in the Mecklenburgian part of the state, ...
, Germany, eventually operating in tandem with the newly built ''
Fritz Heckert''.
When the Berlin wall went up in 1961, all ports were restricted to communist countries only, which greatly limited sailing routes. The ship made trips to Cuba, and would be one of the two ships that was en route to Havana during the
Cuban Missile Crisis, where she was suspiciously watched by US military planes and vessels.
The ship was already halfway to Havana, and it was necessary to continue to resupply and refuel, before quickly turning around back to East Germany.
In 1964 the ship was put under the management of the
Free German Trade Union Federation
The Free German Trade Union Federation (german: Freier Deutsche Gewerkschaftsbund or ''FDGB'') was the sole national trade union centre of the German Democratic Republic (GDR or East Germany) which existed from 1946 and 1990. As a mass organis ...
, but would be chartered out to western European countries for a majority of the year. This would be expanded in 1967, with
Stena Line chartering the ship for Swedish passengers for half of the year, doing within annually until the ship was sold in 1985.
Norwegian barracks ship ''Fridtjof Nansen''
In 1985 she was transferred to a Panamanian company, Neptunas Rex Enterprises. Her name was reduced to ''Volker'', and by the end of the year she was laid up in
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
, England. In 1985 the ship was renamed ''Fridtjof Nansen'' was later used as a barracks ship in
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...
for
asylum seekers in Norway.
Rebuilding into a modern cruise ship
In 1989, ex-''Stockholm'' was officially sold to the Italian
Star Lauro Lines, who intended to convert the liner into a luxury cruise ship. The ship was still under charter as the Fridtjof Nansen, and so remained in Oslo until 1993. The ship was towed to a shipyard in
Genoa
Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
, Italy, ''Andrea Doria'' home port; but when she arrived, the press labeled her "the ship of death" (''La nave della morte'') due to the collision with ''Andrea Doria''. During conversion, it was discovered that the ex-''Stockholm'' was in very good condition (except for the American-built replacement bow, which needed the most refurbishing).
She was completely gutted on the interior, and rebuilt from the promenade deck up. New diesel engines were installed, and a new bridge was built, extending the superstructure forward. The aft decks were built up, giving her a more modern cruise ship profile. A large ducktail was added that significantly altered the stern appearance. Although not very recognizable from her original appearance as ''Stockholm;'' many elements such as the bow and anchor, hull window arrangement, passenger lifts and stair locations, and the distinct double porthole dining room windows, were all visible traits from the original ''Stockholm'' design.
Cruise ship
''Italia I - Italia Prima - Valtur Prima''
Following the completion of the refit in 1994, ship was named ''Italia I'', then ''Italia Prima'', she later sailed as ''Valtur Prima'' primarily to Cuba, and was laid up there in 2001.
''Caribe''
Acquired by
Festival Cruises
Festival Cruises (known as First European Cruises in North America) was a Greece-based cruise line that operated between 1994 and 2004. It was founded in 1992 by the Greek entrepreneur George Poulides using second-hand ships. The company acquired ...
in 2002 and renamed ''Caribe'', she continued to sail to Cuba.
''Athena''
In 2005 the ''Caribe'' was renamed ''Athena'', being registered in Portugal. She was reflagged to Cyprus operating for
Classic International Cruises.
Pirate attack
On December 3, 2008 ''Athena'' was attacked by
pirates in the
Gulf of Aden. Reportedly, 29 pirate boats surrounded the ship at one stage until a
US Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
P-3 Orion maritime patrol aircraft circled above which caused some of the pirates to flee. The crew prevented the pirates from boarding by firing high-pressure water cannons at them. No one was injured and the ship escaped without damage, continuing her voyage to Australia.
In 2009 the ship was chartered to German cruise operator
Phoenix Reisen
Phoenix Reisen is a Germany-based travel agency that also operates a fleet of cruise ships. The company first entered the cruise business in 1988 by chartering the Soviet Union-owned cruise ship .
History
Phoenix Reisen first begun operating crui ...
and repainted in the company colors with a turquoise funnel and company logo. On September 17, 2012, reports announced that she and her fellow ship ''Princess Danae'' were detained in
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...
, France, for unpaid fuel bills.
''Azores''
Early in 2013 ''Athena'' was bought by the recently created Portuguese cruise company
Portuscale Cruises and renamed ''Azores''. As soon as her acquisition was confirmed, she was taken to a shipyard in Marseille, where she was revamped. She then entered Portuscale Cruises service after completing a charter for Berlin-based Ambiente Kreuzfahrten, from whom she was chartered to Classic International to join her fleetmate ''Princess Daphne''.
The charter began in March 2014 with a cruise from
Lisbon, Portugal, to
Bremerhaven
Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany.
It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...
, Germany, and concluded in November 2014 in Genoa, Italy. After Portuscale's collapse, the administrator of the ship's formal owner, Island Cruises — Transportes Marítimos, Unipessoal Ltda., secured a charter to
Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV).
Her first voyage was from
Avonmouth Docks
The Avonmouth Docks are part of the Port of Bristol, in England. They are situated on the northern side of the mouth of the River Avon, opposite the Royal Portbury Dock on the southern side, where the river joins the Severn estuary, within Avo ...
to the Caribbean in January 2015.
''Astoria''
In March 2016 the ship was renamed ''Astoria'' by Cruise & Maritime Voyages and from May 2016 until March 2017 was subchartered to French tour operator Rivages du Monde.
Since 2016, ''Astoria'' is the last remaining vessel of the former Swedish American Line still afloat, after the former
''Kungsholm'' was scrapped in 2016.
In June 2016, it was announced that ''Astoria'' would be leaving the CMV fleet after her final cruise on April 27, 2017 from London Tilbury. In February 2017, CMV announced that ''Astoria'' would remain in the CMV fleet until 2018. She would offer a mini-season from London Tilbury, before being charted by Rivages du Monde during the summer months.
''Astoria'' was scheduled to begin winter cruising the
Sea of Cortez
The Gulf of California ( es, Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Bermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja C ...
from the port of Puerto Peñasco (Rocky Point) Mexico from December 2019, but this sailing did not take place until January 2020 due to unspecified delays in dry dock. The 2020 cruise season was intended be the last for ''Astoria'' in the CMV fleet.
The vessel was arrested by UK
Maritime & Coastguard Agency
The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is an executive agency of the United Kingdom that responsible for implementing British and international maritime law and safety policy. It works to prevent the loss of lives at sea and to prevent marine ...
officers in June 2020 following reports she was about to set sail and leave UK jurisdiction without arranging the repatriation of foreign crew members stranded in the UK by the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
. CMV entered administration in 2020.
''Astoria'' was later moved to
Rotterdam
Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...
and put up for auction on 1 March 2021, with a minimum sale price of €10 million, but received no offers until July 2021.
The ship remained in custody pending decisions by owners and creditors.
2021 sale
In July 2021, the ship was purchased by an American group, led by
Brock Pierce
Brock Jeffrey Pierce (born November 14, 1981) is an American entrepreneur known primarily for his work in the cryptocurrency industry. As a child actor, he starred in Disney films '' The Mighty Ducks'' (1992), '' D2: The Mighty Ducks'' (1994), an ...
, which also acquired
''Funchal''. The new owners intended to return ''Astoria'' to service, and convert ''Funchal'' to 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 ...
. The plans were abandoned and the ship was again made available for sale, never having left port in Rotterdam.
See also
* , served for 68 years
*, served for 75 years
References
External links
Film: MS Stockholm Maiden VoyageTribute to Swedish American Line
{{DEFAULTSORT:Astoria
Maritime accidents involving fog
Ocean liners
Cruise ships of Portugal
Maritime incidents in 1956
Piracy in Somalia
1946 ships
Ships built in Gothenburg
Merchant ships of Sweden
Passenger ships of Sweden
Merchant ships of East Germany
Passenger ships of East Germany
Merchant ships of Panama
Passenger ships of Panama
Merchant ships of Italy
Passenger ships of Italy
Merchant ships of Portugal
Passenger ships of Portugal
Maritime incidents in the United States
Ships of Swedish American Line