MV Astoria

MV ''Astoria'' is a ship that was constructed as the transatlantic ocean liner ''Stockholm'' for Swedish American Line, and rebuilt as a cruise ship 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 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 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 voyage
on 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 cruising to Havana, Nassau, and Bermuda. In February 1955, she was used to deport Arne Pettersen, the last person to go through Ellis Island, 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 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.

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 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, 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 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. 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 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''. 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, 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, England. In 1985 the ship was renamed ''Fridtjof Nansen'' was later used as a barracks ship in Oslo 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, 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 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 P-3 Orion

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