MS Athena

MS "Athena" is a cruise ship owned and operated by Classic International Cruises. She was built in 1948 as the MS "Stockholm" by Götaverken in Gothenburg for the Swedish America Line. Since her career with SAL she has sailed under the names MS "Völkerfreundschaft", MS "Volker", MS "Fridtjof Nansen", MS "Italia I", MS "Italia Prima", MS "Valtur Prima" and MS "Caribe", before beginning service under her current name.

The 1948 "Stockholm" is best known for colliding with the SS "Andrea Doria" in 1956, resulting in the sinking of the latter ship.

ervice history

At convert|525|ft|m|2 with a gross tonnage of 12,165, "Stockholm" was the smallest passenger ship operating on the North Atlantic route at the time. However, she was the largest ship built in Sweden at the time. Originally designed to carry 395 people, a 1953 refit expanded "Stockholm's" capacity to 548 people.

Collision with the "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, the "Stockholm" and the "Andrea Doria" of the Italian Line collided in what was to become one of history's most famous 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 the "Andrea Doria"'s lifeboats were unusable. However, a number of ships responded and provided assistance, which averted a massive loss of life like that suffered by the "Titanic" over 40 years earlier.

Five crewmembers on the "Stockholm" were killed instantly and several more were trapped in the wrecked bow. Despite its having sunk about three feet (0.9 m), the crippled "Stockholm" helped in the rescue and ended up carrying 327 passengers and 245 crewmembers from the "Andrea Doria", in addition to her own passengers and crew. After "Andrea Doria" sank, "Stockholm" sailed to New York City under her own power and arrived on July 27. The crushed bow portion was repaired at a cost of US$1 million three months later.

History after the collision

On January 3, 1960, the "Stockholm" was sold to the East German government, who renamed the ship "Völkerfreundschaft" and operated her as an ocean liner until 1985. 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. She was later used as a barracks ship in Oslo for asylum seekers in Norway under the name "Fridtjof Nansen".

The "Stockholm" was sold to Italian interests in 1989 and towed to Genoa, the "Andrea Doria's" home port. When she first arrived, the press called the "Stockholm" the "ship of death" (La nave della morte). She was rebuilt from the waterline up and given a modern cruise ship design. Named the "Italia I", then "Italia Prima", she later sailed as "Valtur Prima" primarily to Cuba, and was laid up there in 2001. Acquired by Festival Cruise Line in 2002 and renamed "Caribe" she continued to sail to Cuba. Since 2005, the "Stockholm" sails as the "Athena" and is registered in Portugal. She is now flagged out of Cyprus operating for Classic International Cruises.

tatistics

PUBLIC ROOMS Capacity Deck
Olissipo Restaurant 520 Atlantic
Lotus Pool Grill 210 Calypso
Calypso Show Lounge 480 Calypso
Sirene's Bar 150 Calypso
Muses Night Club 80 Promenade
Captain's Club 30 Calypso
Tychon Card Room 40 Calypso
Ithaca Library 16 Calypso
Cyclope's Auditorium 260 Promenade

OTHER LEISURE AREAS
Emporio Boutique Calypso
Fitness Centre Observation
Beauty Salon Observation
Sauna Observation
Photo Shop Calypso
Circe's Casino Calypso
Chapel Mediterranean
Medical Centre Pacific

OPEN LEISURE AMENITIES
Swimming pool Calypso
Elpinor Bar Calypso
Aeolos Bar Navigators
Barbecue Calypso

References

*Goldberg, Mark H. (2002). [http://www.cruiseserver.net/travelpage/ships/fe_caribe.asp Ship Profile - MS Caribe] . "CruisePage.com". Accessed June 6, 2005.
*Ljungström, Henrik. Stockholm. " [http://www.greatoceanliners.net/stockholm3.html The Great Ocean Liners] ". Accessed June 6, 2005.
* [http://www.search2cruise.com/ship-31.html Presentation of the "Athena", with picture]

fi:M/S Athena
sv:M/S Stockholm (1948)