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Stockholm’s early years were marked by a major disaster when the ship collided with the Italian liner Andrea Dorea in 1956, causing the latter to sink. It earned the vessel the name “la nave della morte,” or the ship of death. Although Stockholm was severely damaged, it managed to limp to New York for repairs.
Astoria Grande current position
After Andrea Doria sank, Stockholm sailed to New York City under her own power and arrived on July 27.
Cruises
For months, there has been a rumor that she would become the first ship broken at a new operation planned at the Inchgreen Dry Dock in Scotland. A company leased the facility from Peel Ports to start a ship recycling operation. The owners of the Astoria however are denying the sale saying they are negotiating a deal with a buyer that indicates they plan to operate the ship. One of the last historic ocean liners and oldest ocean-going cruise ship, the 1948-built Astoria, is reportedly being sold although her owners are denying it is a sale for scrap. The pending sale marks yet another twist in the career of a ship made famous by a casualty. Commissioned by the Swedish America Line in 1944, the ship originally was named the MS Stockholm and was the largest cruise ship built in Sweden at that time.
ALL CRUISE LINES (1543 SHIPS)
Passengers including Italian immigrants, vacationers and notable travelers, such as actress Ruth Roman, were aboard. I boarded in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, for a six-night cruise and will disembark in Puerto Penasco, Mexico. Some passengers boarded in Puerto Penasco for an 11-night roundtrip cruise. Despite its many lives and names, Astoria will be remembered as a unique and unforgettable ship with a rich history spanning nearly 75 years, more than any other cruise ship in history.
Fun fact is, that AIDAcara was the world's first cruise liner to offer the innovative "club ship" concept. As to size, it is among the fleet's smallest, very much family-friendly, and Das Theater is the largest area on board. AIDA's Cara ship also has a biking station and its own fleet of bicycles provided on shore excursions in ports of call. The onboard language is German, as most of AIDA cruise ship passengers are Germans and German-speaking Europeans (Austrians, Swiss). In August 2021 was announced that the vessel (renamed "Astoria Grande") has as ship manager listed the Cyprus-based company Mester Commercial Ltd. However, IHS Markit Ltd (London UK-based ship register with listed shipowners by IMO) shows Akvilon Shipping (Moscow-based company/Akvilon Ltd OOO) as the bareboat owner.
Astoria Leaves Cruise and Maritime Voyages' Fleet
So she passed to yet another owner, Cruise & Maritime Voyages and was renamed yet again to Astoria. The East Germans renamed her Völkerfreundschaft (friendship between people). She was chartered to Stena Line on a number of occasions, cruising with Swedish passengers so in a way she stayed connected to her former homeland Sweden. Not being profitable anymore and in need of a refit, she was then sold to Neptunas Rex Enterprises, Panama. As her bow -what was left of it- was heavily damaged, it was to be seen if the bulkhead now facing the sea was strong enough and wouldn’t give in. Luckily Stockholm remained afloat and she stayed in the vicinity to assist the sinking Andrea Doria, 327 passengers and 245 crew were transferred to Stockholm.
The oldest cruise ship on the seas is retiring. Here's a look at its crazy history
The accident resulted in one of the most unusual survival stories in the history of passenger shipping. The shipping site said the 16,144-ton vessel had been sold for recycling at an as-yet-unknown scrapyard. In mid-July 2019, CMV offered free roundtrip bus travel to Puerto Penasco from USA (Phoenix and Tucson) plus USD 200 OBC/onboard credit for all Sea of Cortez cruise bookings made by July 30. Promo sales also included onboard gratuities and free drinks (house beer and wine by the glass at lunches and dinners). CMV Astoria cruise prices started from USD 1600 per person (double occupancy cabin rates). In 1985 she was transferred to a Panamanian company, Neptunas Rex Enterprises.
Singapore Maritime Week is an opportunity to showcase one of the world's most dynamic maritime cities, and this year's edition did not disappoint. IMO Secretary General Arsenio Dominguez headlined a marquee lineup of dignitaries who came to celebrate Singapore's role as an innovation hub. "Countries like Singapore . . . have been helpful and proactive – actually taking the time to design projects with us, to look into the needs of countries in the region,” said Dominguez. “From there, [the IMO]... They even had her repainted in their company colors with a turquoise funnel and the Phoenix company logo on it to fit in their fleet. She didn’t receive a very friendly welcome here as this was Andrea Doria‘s former home port. The local press had not forgotten what had happened back in 1956 and called the former Stockholm la nave della morte, the ship of death,.due to the collision with Andrea Doria.
Cruise Ship with Russian Tourists Jeered by Georgian Protestors - The Maritime Executive
Cruise Ship with Russian Tourists Jeered by Georgian Protestors.
Posted: Fri, 28 Jul 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Just when it appeared her career was over, she was acquired by a Portuguese company, Classic International Cruises (CIC) who further refitted her as the Athena. In 2013, she went to the successor Portuguese company Portuscale Cruises renamed Azores, and three years later was chartered to the UK’s Cruise & Maritime Voyages (CMV) who changed her name to Astoria. She was continuing to cruise but CMV planned to retire her by 2020 when the pandemic brought her career to a close. As the world’s oldest cruise ship still sailing, the Astoria has cruised under many different names.
Nineteen oceangoing cruise ships are scheduled to dock in Astoria this cruise season, according to a preliminary count from the Port of Astoria. CMV financially collapsed in 2020 but unlike their other cruise ships, because she was under charter, she was not auctioned. She was sold by the bank that had owned her after the financial collapse of Portuscale in 2016. An investment group acquired the Astoria but later abandon plans to rebuild her due to advanced age. Outbound from New York to Scandinavia she was near the Nantucket Lightship.
The Stockholm was rebuilt and in the 1960s, USA TODAY reports, it was sold to the East German government and renamed Volkerfreundshaft, or "friendship between nations." It was a major news story, one of the biggest maritime disasters since the Titanic, and one that unfolded with icons including the actress Ruth Roman aboard. But the cause was never fully litigated, as the two cruise lines agreed to a settlement out of court.
Astoria’s journey ended when Cruise & Maritime Voyages went bankrupt in 2020 due to the global pause in operations. While there was some hope that a cryptocurrency billionaire would restore Astoria in mid-2021 with the intention of using it as a cruise ship, these plans have since been put on hold. It was transferred several more times between various cruise companies, and renamed many times, too, over the ensuing 63 years.
Russian Cruise Ship, Met With Fresh Protests In Batumi, To Remove Georgian Port From Itinerary - Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty
Russian Cruise Ship, Met With Fresh Protests In Batumi, To Remove Georgian Port From Itinerary.
Posted: Mon, 31 Jul 2023 07:00:00 GMT [source]
After yet again an extensive refit the Athena entered service with the company. She became a successful cruise ship, sailing at first in European waters, but later she shifted to Australia. The 1948-built cruise ship Astoria (fka "MV Azores") was launched as "MS Stockholm" for Swedish America Line on September 9, 1946.
It made its maiden voyage on Feb. 21, 1948, sailing from Gothenburg to New York. The collision with the Andrea Doria, which was viewed as one of the most beautiful ocean liners of its time, with its three swimming pools and wide collection of art, came eight years after the Stockholm’s maiden voyage. On the night of July 25, 1956, the two ships were sailing a heavily trafficked area off Nantucket Island, Mass.
The official onboard language is Russian (services and entertainment). Besides the staff and crew, AIDAcara passengers are also served by Peper robots - the latest cyborg technology implemented fleetwide in 2016. They also assist them throughout the cruise by providing information and tips on onboard dining, entertainment, enrichment program (workshops, pre-scheduled events), casino and shopping promotions, shore excursions and tours.
At the time of its launch, this was the largest Swedish passenger vessel (Transatlantic liner) best known for the collision with SS Andrea Doria (in 1956) which resulted in the sinking of the ocean liner. In the years that followed, the Swedish-built ship continued having brushes with history, becoming a kind of Forrest Gump of maritime vessels. It carried members of East Germany’s Communist Party for pleasure cruises in the 1960s and ’70s and housed Middle Eastern refugees seeking asylum in Norway in the ’80s. It was later converted to a cruise ship and has become one of the few remaining classic cruise ships still on the water, a “Love Boat”-era vessel that sails out of the Mexican resort town of Puerto Peñasco under the name Astoria. MV Azores entered service for CMV in 2015, under long-term charter from Portuscale Cruises (Portuguese cruise ship line), and is aimed at the English speaking cruise market.
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