MV Astoria

Stockholm as built

The ship was ordered in 1944, and launched 9 September 1946, as Stockholm by Götaverken 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.[4] 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.[4]

At 525 feet (160.02 m) with a gross register tonnage of 12,165, Stockholm at the time was the smallest passenger ship operating on the North Atlantic route,[5] but the largest passenger ship built in Sweden, with the largest diesel propulsion unit yet built in Sweden.[6] 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.[7] When delivered, the ship would replace the aging SS Drottningholm, and run an alternating transatlantic service with MS Gripsholm.[6] She made her maiden voyage on February 21, 1948, under the command of Captain Waldemar Jonsson, from Gothenburg arriving in New York on March 1.[8]

Model of MS Stockholm, displayed at Sjöhistoriska Museet in Stockholm

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 cruising to Havana, Nassau, and Bermuda.[9] In February 1955, she was used to deport Arne Pettersen, the last person to go through Ellis Island, to Gothenburg, Sweden.[10] 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.[11]

26 July 1956: After colliding with Andrea Doria, Stockholm, with severely damaged bow heads to New York

On the night of July 25, 1956, at 11:10 pm, in heavy fog in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Nantucket, Stockholm and Andrea Doria of the Italian Line collided in what was to become one of history's most notorious maritime disasters.[12]

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's lifeboats were unusable. However, a number of ships, including SS Ile de France, responded and provided assistance, which averted a massive loss of life.[13]

Five members of Stockholm's crew were killed instantly, and several more were trapped in the wrecked bow. Despite having lost about 3 feet (0.9 m) of freeboard, 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.[14] 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.

Damaged Stockholm entering port of New York

After Andrea Doria sank, Stockholm sailed to New York City under her own power and arrived on July 27. There, the crushed bow portion was replaced at a cost of US$1 million three months later at Bethlehem Shipyard in Brooklyn, New York.[15] An inquiry followed the events, with a settlement reached after 6 months between the Italian Line and Swedish American Line.

Ship's bell

Damaged bell from the bow of Stockholm, salvaged from the wreck of Andrea Doria and currently displayed on board Astoria

Years following the collision, Andrea Doria became 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.

The ship in 1961, sailing as Völkerfreundschaft

On 3 January 1960, Stockholm was transferred to the East German 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, Germany, eventually operating in tandem with the newly built Fritz Heckert.[17] 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.[17] 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, 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.[18]

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, England. In 1985 the ship was renamed Fridtjof Nansen was later used as a barracks ship in Oslo for asylum seekers in Norway.

Conversion into a cruise ship at a Genoa shipyard in 1993

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, Italy, Andrea Doria's 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.[19] During conversion, it was discovered that the ex-Stockholm was in very good condition. [20]

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.

• MS Dunnottar Castle, served for 68 years
• SS Germanic (1874), served for 75 years

Wikimedia Commons has media related to IMO 5383304.

• Film: MS Stockholm Maiden Voyage
• Tribute to Swedish American Line
• ssMaritime: MS Stockholm Ship History