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A Tribute to the Swedish American Line | ||||||||
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The Lindblad Explorer, the Little Red Ship, was during several years owned
by United Cruising Co, Nassau, Bahamas, with ownership connections to SAL.
Several officers and crew alternated between the SAL ships and Lindblad Explorer.
Original name: | Lindblad Explorer |
Shipyard: | Nystads Varv AB, Finland |
Tons: | 550 |
Length oa | 72.86 m |
Length bp | 64.5 m |
Delivered to SAL: | 1969 |
Sold: | 1982 |
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Today: | Sank on November 23, 2007, |
Liberian flagged MV Explorer, ex Lindblad Explorer, sank in the Antarctic Ocean on November 23, 2007, local time, after colliding with an ice floe. An ice floe is a floating chunk of sea ice that is less than 10 kilometers (six miles) in its greatest dimension. (Wikipedia.) The ice was sharp enough to pierce the hull, and make a hole the size of a fist. Water came pouring in, and after some time the electric power for the pumps failed. The Lindblad Explorer was once owned by a company affiliated to SAL. All 100 passengers and 54 crew were picked up by the Norwegian ship Nordnorge, one of the Hurtigruten ships. See photos from Nordnorge. |
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From the Dawe collection.
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The Lindblad Explorer was built by Nystads Varv AB, the first vessel in the world built especially for Antarctic cruising. The vessel was constructed under the supervision of Det Norske Veritas for classification + A1 Ice Class A, and to comply with the requirements of SOLAS 1960, the IMCO regulations at the time, and US Coast Guard regulations for fire protection. The hull was ice strengthened but not provided with an ice-breaker bow, and was transversely framed throughout. There was an ice knife at the stern to protect the rudder. |
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From the Dawe collection.
There is an external website for friends of the Lindblad Explorer.
Excerpt from a press release from Lindblad Expeditions, New York, NY (November 24, 2007): “It’s a sad day for all of us who knew and traveled aboard the Explorer”, said Sven Lindblad,
whose late father commissioned the ship in 1969 for Arctic and Antarctic exploration. The ship
was sold by Lindblad in 1982 and has had several owners since. GAP Adventures, a Canadian
company, owned her most recently. While the ship remained listing in Antarctic waters
yesterday, Lindblad spoke by phone to many of his top expedition leaders, staff and crew who
knew and had remembered happier times aboard the little red ship. “In some ways”, he said,“ending her illustrious career in Antarctic waters, where she began, is fitting for a ship of her
great stature. Certainly, her legacy will continue through the stories and memories she gave to
all her knew her.”
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Regardless of which ship we sailed on or which year - the memories we share are the same!
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Recommended Books |
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Updated Sep 7, 2009 Waterline - Images from the Golden Age of Cruising John Graves
Örjan Slätte, ex Information Officer on the Gripsholm, recommends Waterline - Images from the Golden Age of Cruising by John Graves, published by the National Maritime Museum in London in 2004. It is based on photos by Marine Photo Service, which were acquired by the museum in 1996 The book features many photos from SAL cruises.
Please note that the book's edition at Amazon.co.uk may not have the Kungsholm on the cover. Örjan Slätte, Informationsofficer på Gripsholm, rekommenderar boken Waterline - Images from the Golden Ages of Cruising. Boken är utgiven år 2004 av National Maritime Museum i London som 1996 förvärvat Marine Photo Service (MPS) samlingar. Redan omslagsbilden föreställer Kungsholm 1953 med två vattenskidåkande ynglingar i fronten. MPS fanns i många rederier och där finns många mycket bra foton från SAL:s kryssningar. Våra fotografer var mycket yrkesskickliga med konstnärlig talang. Man kan förmoda att de tidvis kände för att fotografera annat än leende, välklädda pax med cocktailglas i hand. Fina miljöer från fartygens "omvärld". |
Updated July7, 2008 MERCY SHIPS
During World War 2 the Drottningholm and the Gripsholm were used as repatriation ships and made 33 voyages to exchange prisoners of war, diplomats, women and children, between the warfaring nations. David Miller has written a book about the exchange and repatriation voyages,with an emphasis on the British experience. It is loaded with facts about these voyages of mercy. Read more about all the exchange and repatriation sailings during WWII here. |
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M/S Kungsholms inredning Första M/S Kungsholm, Amerikalinjens stora passagerarfartyg, byggdes på 1920-talet. Det gick mellan Göteborg och New York. Arkitekten Carl Bergsten fick uppdraget att hålla i den påkostade inredningen som skulle visa för världen vad svenska konstnärer kunde åstadkomma. Under andra världskriget togs fartyget i beslag av amerikanarna för att användas i trupptransporten till Europa. Inredningen revs då ner och förstördes. Anne-Marie Ericsson har letat i arkiv och museer efter beskrivningar, ritningar och gamla fotografier för att försöka rekonstruera denna makalösa uppvisning i svensk inredningskonst. |
Amerikabåtarna Christer Winberg, professor i historia vid Göteborgs universitet, har skrivit en bok om SAL som bygger på bevarat samtida material från Svenska Amerika Linien på Landsarkivet och Sjöfartsmuseet i Göteborg. Det omfattar exempelvis reserapporter, minnesberättelser och personligt färgade reseskildringar. Författaren har också samlat in eget material genom intervjuer med f.d. anställda.
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Andrea Dorias undergång I Andrea Dorias undergång berättar Britt-Marie Mattsson den fascinerande berättelsen om kollisionen, den heroiska räddningsaktionen och det rättsliga efterspelet till den mycket uppmärksammade olyckan - sin tids Titanic. Mattssons far var vid tiden för olyckan informationschef vid Svenska Amerika Linien. Britt-Marie Mattsson har träffat flera av de överlevande och intervjuat dem för denna bok. Hon har bland annat talat med vittnen som ger information som kan kasta nytt ljus över vad som egentligen orsakade den fruktansvärda kollisionen. Boken är rikligt illustrerad i svartvitt. |
A book about the Kungsholm of 1953. |
Journalist Per Fält has recommended |
"Såna" på Amerikabåtarna SAL har skildrats i böcker, dokumentär-filmer, journalfilmer och tidningsartiklar. Oftast är det glamouren som uppmärk-sammats men en grupp har alltid saknats i beskrivningarna: homosexuella män. Såna på Amerikabåtarna är en välskriven, lättläst och underhållande studie av en värld som gått i glömska. | |
De Flytande Palatsen From the very inception of the line in 1915, the ships of the Line attracted much attention on both sidesof the Atlantic. Not only did they represent the bonds between the old country and the new, they also represented new concepts in service, decor, and furnishings as well as in art and handicraft. Published in 1987. This book can be found on Amazon.
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Huset Broström Huset Broström för tankarna till Forsythesagan och Onedinlinjen. Inget svenskt företag har upplevt så stor dramatik som just Broströms. Detta är den dramtiska berättelsen "inifrån Huset", om det som skedde i det som syntes ske. Utgiven 1980. | ||
Out of the Fog is an American edition of a Swedish book by Algot Mattsson, who was the information officer for SAL, the owner of Stockholm, the ship that collided with Andrea Doria in 1956. The book describes the collision from the perspectives of both ships as well as the heroic rescue of hundreds. Testimony given at the hearing is also included as is a legal opinion by the American editors, one of whom was directly involved with the case. |
Detta är en berättelse om den dramatiska färden över Atlanten, från de hårda och riskfyllda överfarten med små lastskutor i mitten av 1800-talet, till lyxresorna med Amerikalinjens sista skepp. Utgiven 1982 | ||
