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Bow lost in collision with Andrea Doria found off Nantucket

66 years after the nose of the 'Stockholm', today the 'Astoria', broke off in the collision with the 'Adnrea Doria', a team led by the Millstone resident Joe Mazraani located the 60-foot-long, 30-foot-wide bow via sonar in August and dove to confirm it on Sep 8. The discovery, made 250 feet down off the coast of Nantucket, was announced on Sep 15 by Atlantic Wreck Salvage, Mazraani’s company. Mazraani captained the dive vessel 'Tenacious', and veteran divers Steve Gatto and Tom Packer were first to see the bow in person. They found it in pretty good shape. “When the divers went into the water, we were pretty confident we had found it based on the scans we had done,” Sellitti said. “Then the question became, ‘How are we going to identify it because it’s probably going to be a bunch of twisted metal?’ But it’s remarkably intact.” The bow plating and a nearby anchor helped identify it. The 'Stockholm' had an icebreaker bow with internal reinforcement, and bow plating that shows that reinforcement. On July 25, 1956, the 'Stockholm' departed New York for its home port in Sweden. In a heavy fog, the Stockholm knifed into the side of the passenger m/v 'Andrea Doria'. The collision killed 48 people, including five crew members of the 'Stockholm', but the 'Andrea Doria' managed to stay afloat for 11 more hours, enabling the 'Stockholm' to rescue more than 500 passengers and crew members. Despite losing the bow, the 'Stockholm' limped into New York and offloaded its passengers, along with survivors from the Andrea Doria. It proceeded to the Bethlehem Steel Shipyard in New Jersey where it was fitted with a brand new bow. The discovery was the culmination of a three-year project. Report with photo: https://eu.app.com/story/news/history/2020/09/15/andrea-doria-wreck-discovery-stockholm-bow/5796154002/

Cruise ship to be refurbished in Lisbon

The 'Astoria' was due to sail from Tilbury in the evening of June 25 where she has been in lay-up since March 15 following a suspension of cruising due to COVID-19. The ship will sail to Lisbon for minor works and to have certificates renewed prior to sailing again She was estimated to arrive in Lisbon on June 22. The ship is scheduled to return to London Tilbury in September to hopefully commence cruising again for a final season under the company’s livery as she will leave the fleet in 2021. There are 133 crew members on board for the voyage to Lisbon. The ship, however, was still in port on June 26.

Astoria detained in Tilbury

The 'Astoria' had to remain in Tilbury as she has been detained by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency on June 19 over serious concerns for crew welfare. The vessel was held at Tilbury Docks as a preventative measure and a full inspection was carried out. The Cruise and Maritime Voyages (CMV) was cooperating fully with the inspections. On the whole five cruise ships at Tilbury and Bristol were also slated for port state control boardings on June 19. About 600 Indian seafarers wwere stranded aboard the cruise ships 'Magellan', 'Columbus', 'Vasco de Gama', 'Astor', 'Astoria' and 'Marco Polo'. Their repatriation arrangements have allegedly been frustrated by shifting Indian government positions regarding their permission to land, and while seafarers from other nationalities have already been repatriated, they have remained on board for nearly 90 days. The All India Seafarers Union wrote to the government of India on June 16 requesting help for 164 crew members stranded on board the 'Astoria'. Some crew members had gone on hunger strike and "staged a peaceful protest" in a bid to be "returned home to their families". The company's chief executive Christian Verhounig said it had been in high level talks with the Indian government to help facilitate the safe return of crew members.