New life for the "death ship" S.S. Stockholm

The S.S. Stockholm, the ill-fated cruise liner that secured its place in infamy when it struck the Andrea Doria in the fog off the coast of Nantucket over 50 years ago, is back in service as the Athena. The 16,000-ton vessel made its first voyage in decades last week from Falmouth to New York City. According to a New York Times report, the mostly British passengers were aware, but unfazed by, the liner's macabre history.

The S.S. Stockholm, built in 1948, was traveling east from the United States towards Scandinavia on July 25, 1956 when its ice-breaking prow rammed into the starboard side of the Andrea Doria, mortally injuring that ship. The classic liner, Ile de France, which had passed the Andrea Doria earlier that evening, returned to rescue the Andrea Doria's 1,134 surviving passengers. Unlike the tragic sinking of the Titanic forty years earlier, all of the passengers not killed in the impact were evacuated from the sinking ship. Forty-six passengers and crew perished that foggy night.

The 550-passenger Athena is now owned and operated by British Classic International Cruises. The ship is currently making 28-day voyages roundtrip from Falmouth with stops in New York, Boston, Bar Harbor, Halifax, and the Azores, among other ports.