A Tribute to the Swedish American Line The White Viking Fleet 14 Years on the Internet
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Gripsholm 1975 Photo contributed by crew member Lars Warlin

The Gripsholm's Final Voyage (Please forgive us for not using the correct name "Sea". To the Swedes, she will always be remembered as the Gripsholm.)

The Gripsholm was laid up in Tampa Bay for nearly four years. Gripsholm was also known for her service as Karageorgis' Navarino and Regency Cruise Line's Regent Sea. An aborted rebuilding into the casino ship Splash during 1997 had left the old liner stripped and partially gutted (see below). In April 2000, the ship was inspected by Seapartner, Sweden, on an assignment for Swedish investors. The inspector recommended that the ship should not be towed across the ocean. Gripsholm was sold to the German company Eckhardt Marine, to be scrapped during the spring of 2001. The price was $1.08M. The ship departed on April 17, 2001, towed by the Dutch tug Solano. Her destination was yet to be confirmed. On May 17, plans to moor Gripsholm in the Stockholm harbor as a floating cruise terminal and hotel were made public. A new group of investors had an option to purchase the ship for approximately $2.5M. The plan was to tow her to drydock in Finland to paint the hull, and then to Estonia for refurbishing. However, no money changed hands, and Gripsholm continued towards India to be scrapped. On June 7, the Stockholm City Planning Board postponed its decision regarding granting the Gripsholm a permit as a floating hotel until the next meeting in August. People who lived on the hill above the intented docking site were protesting that the ship would block the view of the Stockholm waterways. Two Senegalese newspapers, Le Populaire, and Le Soleil, reported that the Gripsholm had been boarded and looted by fishermen turned pirates, while anchored off Dakar. Computers and other electronic equipment were among the stolen items. The police apprehended many persons and found some of the loot, among it 167 armchairs, refrigerators, linen and a cabin door! The Gripsholm left Dakar and was expected to arrive in Cape Town for bunkering around June 25. Somewhere in the South Atlantic, the tug Simoon replaced Solano. Both tugs are owned by the Dutch company ITC. The southern Cape coast was at this time battered by a series of massive winter gales. The liner was refused to enter Algoa Bay as a place of refuge by the South African authorities. Reasons for refusing entry into the calmer waters of Algoa Bay were given as a concern over the 30 degree list of the vessel, plus the presence of 60 tons of fuel aboard. These were deemed to be a threat to the pristine beaches of the area. On July 11, at 05h00 local (South African) time, the Gripsholm sank in 4,200 metres of water at a position 83 miles SSE of Cape Recife on the Cape south coast. Sources: Maritime Matters and Liners List.

När hotellplanerna för Gripsholm grusades Resebyråmannen Tommy Asklund har skrivit ett brev om hur det gick till när planerna att göra Gripsholm till hotell i Stockholm stoppades av en liten grupp motståndare år 2001. Läs brevet här.

GRIPSHOLM in Cape Town. Photo by Ian Shiffman, Table Bay Underway Shipping.

The Sea, ex Gripsholm, in Tampa, February 2001. Photo contributed by Peter Knego.

The Sea/Gripsholm 2000

This is what the upper decks of the ship looked
like after attempts to convert her into a casino
ship in 1997.

Read more about Peter Knego's work at
www.maritimematters.com

Lido Disco Verandah Deck

Sun Deck	Sun Deck

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