Legendary Swedish Ship 'M/S Stockholm' Embarks on Its Final Voyage to the Scrap Yard

The Swedish-built ship, known as the 'death ship', has embarked on its final journey. The vessel M/S Stockholm is infamous for its 1956 collision with the Italian luxury liner Andrea Doria, which resulted in the deaths of 51 people in one of history's most notorious maritime disasters. After a turbulent history, the ship is now headed for the scrapyard.

On July 25, 1956, a heavy fog lay over Nantucket on the east coast of the USA. The Italian S/S Andrea Doria, carrying 1,134 passengers, was heading west from New York, while the Swedish America Line's M/S Stockholm, with 534 passengers, was en route to the American metropolis.

For unclear reasons, the two ships collided, with mistakes made on both vessels.

M/S Stockholm was built at Götaverken in Gothenburg, completed in 1948, and operated passenger traffic between Sweden and the USA. Due to a tragic accident, it became one of the most notorious ships in Swedish maritime history and remained in service until recently.

'Known as the Death Ship'

Last Thursday, it made its final voyage, now under the name Astoria, from the port of Waalhaven in Rotterdam, Netherlands. It was towed to Gent, Belgium, where a recycling company will dismantle the historic ship.

"The world's oldest cruise ship, better known as the 'death ship', begins its final journey," writes the Dutch news site Rijnmond.

Stockholm and Andrea Doria collided with violent force nearly 70 years ago. In the crash, 46 people died on the Italian ship and five on the Swedish one. It is considered one of history's most remarkable maritime accidents because two modern ships with radar collided in open water.

Steered Directly Towards Each Other

They steered directly towards each other in the fog, and when they saw each other, Andrea Doria turned the wrong way, to port. However, experts believe mistakes were made on both ships. At the moment of impact, Stockholm drove straight into the side of the Italian luxury liner, which capsized and sank.

"It was like cutting through butter," recounted Ernst Carstens-Johannsen, third officer on the Swedish ship, according to TT.

Almost all passengers and crew were rescued, mainly because many nearby ships came to their aid. Stockholm also rescued many. The Swedish ship's entire bow was crushed, but it managed to reach New York under its own power.

No one was blamed for the accident. The two shipping companies reached a settlement without assigning fault.

The World's Oldest Cruise Ship

Andrea Doria could not be salvaged, but Stockholm was repaired and remained in service until recently. In later years, it was known as the world's oldest cruise ship.

After the accident, Stockholm experienced various fates. It was sold and renamed many times. In 1959, the ship ended up in East Germany, where it was named Völkerfreundschaft (People's Friendship) in 1960. That same year, it ran aground at Sandhamn in the Stockholm archipelago.

After 1985, the ship was based in England for several years and also served as a refugee center in Oslo under the name Fridtjof Nansen. It was sold to Italy in 1992, underwent a major renovation, and changed names three times there. It ended up in Cuba and was later registered in Portugal.

Waving from the Quay

As a cruise ship, it survived a hurricane and pirate attacks. In its final years, it was docked in Rotterdam due to a legal dispute.

Two weeks ago, the ship was sold at auction to a recycling company in Gent, Belgium. For 200,000 euros, the company will receive 12,000 tons of scrap in the form of metal, wood, glass, and plastic, writes Rijnmond.

Several people stood on the quay in the harbor and waved goodbye as the Swedish-built ship was towed away, according to Dutch media.