MS ''Gripsholm'' was a combined

ocean liner An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for 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). The ...

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 Tourism, tours k ...

, built in 1957 by Ansaldo Shipyard,

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

for the Swedish American Line for use in transatlantic traffic from

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

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

as well as long-distance cruising.

History

The MS ''Gripsholm'' completed her

sea trial A sea trial or trial trip is the testing phase of a watercraft (including boats, ships, and submarines). It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on op ...

in January 1957. After the completion of the interior fittings in

, she was scheduled to set sail on her maiden voyage May 14. Captain Gunnar Nordenson, master of the Swedish motorship

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

when it collided with the SS Andrea Doria, was appointed commander of the ''Gripsholm''. The ship, originally intended as a sister ship to the MS ''Kungsholm'', ended up being a "bigger sister". After departing on May 14, the ''Gripsholm'' arrived in New York on May 23. 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. On the evening of Friday, August 7, 1981, while sailing a mile south of the Aegean island

Patmos Patmos (, ) is a Greece, Greek island in the Aegean Sea. It is famous as the location where, according to Christian belief, John of Patmos received the vision found in the Book of Revelation of the New Testament, and where the book was written. ...

, the ''Navarino'' ran aground on rocks. After the impact, passengers donning their life-jackets reported to their lifeboat stations. After waiting at their stations for an hour, an announcement over the loud speaker directing anyone who wanted a drink to the ship's lounges. After another hour, a second announcement was made that the ship's insurers,

Lloyd's of London Lloyd's of London, generally known simply as Lloyd's, is a insurance and reinsurance market located in London, England. Unlike most of its competitors in the industry, it is not an insurance company; rather, Lloyd's is a corporate body gover ...

, had arrived and that divers were inspecting the damage where the rocks had ripped a hole in the bow. The 497-passengers remained on the disabled ship overnight, according to eye-witnesses everyone stayed on deck, too scared to return to their staterooms. The following morning, passengers were tendered to the island of Patmos for a barbeque, while Lloyds and the

Hellenic Coast Guard The Hellenic Coast Guard () is the national coast guard of Greece. Like many other coast guards, it is a paramilitary organization that can support the Hellenic Navy in wartime, but resides under separate civilian control in times of peace. The ...

continued investigating. The passengers while on the island, became disgruntled as they received no answers or information from the ships leadership. Sunday, August 9, Lloyds relieved the commodore and his three captains of their authority. The ''MS Mediterranean Sun'' was pulled from its repair berth in drydock to ferry passengers to Piraeus. The ''Mediterranean Sun'' arrived at 02:30 Tuesday morning and were put up in various hotels. Karageorgis offered passengers a partial refund on their cruise, and offered to book the passengers on the ''Mediterranean Sun'' back to Venice. ''Navarino'' was shopped to Commodore Cruise Lines in September. The ship was damaged by a fire on 29 October, 1981, and Commodore Cruise Lines insisted on the ship being drydocked and thoroughly inspected before the deal was finalized. While drydocked, the ship tipped over collapsing the wall and flooding the ship, leaving it with a 35-degree list. The prospective sale fell through, and the ''Navarino'' stayed in an Athens shipyard until purchased by Regency Cruises. After some repair difficulties costing $13 Million, 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. 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, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. A Swedish plan to turn her into a hotelship in

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 valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

s while at

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

. 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 on 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 ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. Gripsholm 1958.jpg, ''Gripsholm'' at

in 1958 Passagierschiff GRIPSHOLM (schwed.) (Kiel 39.376) (cropped).jpg, ''Gripsholm'' at

Kiel Canal The Kiel Canal (, until 1948 called in German the ) is a fresh water canal that links the North Sea () to the Baltic Sea (). It runs through the Germany, German states of Germany, state of Schleswig-Holstein, from Brunsbüttel to the Holtenau di ...

Regent Sea.jpg, ''Gripsholm'' as ''Regent Sea'' at

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

External links

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

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