The end of an era: GDR dream ship before scrapping?

The end of an era: GDR dream ship before scrapping?

The fate of the "Stockholm", one of the oldest active cruise ships in the world, is on the brink again on June 17, 2023. After more than 70 years on duty, a large part of them for the GDR, the now heavily damaged ship, which was most recently on the road under the name "Astoria", will be auctioned again. According to reports, the estimated scrap value is only a maximum of $ 2.75 million, which suggests the dark view of a possible scrapping, although the owner denied these reports Nordkurier .

The "Stockholm" has a turbulent journey behind in its long history. The ship, which started his first trip from Gothenburg to New York on February 21, 1948, lost numerous changes over the years. It had a total of twelve different names and belonged to five nations Wikipedia . Under the best known names, the ship received special attention as a "international friendship" after it was acquired by the GDR in 1960.

historical collisions and conversions

A striking event in the history of the "Stockholm" was the collision on July 25, 1956 with the Italian passenger ship "Andrea Doria". The tragic misfortune occurred in a thick fog, in which 46 people were killed on board the "Andrea Doria" and five passengers of the "Stockholm". After this incident, the ship received a new foredeck and was put back on the service Nordkurier .

The "Stockholm" was rebuilt in 1952 to increase the capacity to 86 passengers in 1st grade and 584 in the tourist class. Also in 1955 and 1956, further conversions were made to create additional uses, such as a cinema hall Wikipedia

After the end of the service for the GDR, the ship was sold in 1985 and experienced numerous renams and various owners. On December 21, 1984, the last trip took place under the name "International Friendship" to West Indies. The ship took part in various cruises by 2020, before it finally fell rustically in the port of Rotterdam. Since then the "Astoria" has been orphaned and rusts after the shipping company 2020 registered insolvency Nordkurier .

Investors look at the upcoming auction with excitement. Experts consider a return to the sea to be extremely unrealistic because the ship is badly damaged in several places. Nevertheless, the historic contours of the famous cruise ship could soon be a thing of the past, while the history of the "Stockholm" is a chronicle of the maritime heritage.