Cruise History: The SS ANDREA DORIA – Tribute to a great Italian Line ship and its tragic end.

Great video showing the wonderful Italian Liner SS Andrea Doria from her golden years to her tragic sinking. The fabulous SS Andrea Doria — we tribute the great Italian Line and their wonderful ship. We also salute all those loyal cruise passengers who have continued to travel over the years. They are the living history of what it was like to sail during the golden age of passenger liner travel. One such great lady is a regular contributor to cruise addicts. Check out the SHIPMAVEN. Construction of the SS Andrea Doria… SS Andrea Doria was an ocean liner for the Italian Line (Società di navigazione Italia) home ported in Genoa, Italy. Named after the 16th-century Genoese admiral Andrea Doria, the Andrea Doria had a gross tonnage of 29,100 and a capacity of about 1,200 passengers and 500 crew. For a country attempting to rebuild its economy and reputation after World War II, the Andrea Doria was an icon of Italian national pride. Of all Italy’s ships at the time, Andrea Doria was the largest, fastest and supposedly safest. Launched on June 16, 1951, the ship undertook its maiden voyage on January 14, 1953. SS Andrea Doria… On July 25, 1956, approaching the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts bound for New York City, the Andrea Doria collided with the eastward-bound MS Stockholm of the Swedish American Line in what became one of history’s most famous maritime disasters. Struck in the side, the Andrea Doria immediately started to list severely to starboard, which left half of her lifeboats unusable. The consequent shortage of lifeboats might have resulted in significant loss of life, but improvements in communications and rapid responses by other ships averted a disaster similar in scale to the Titanic disaster of 1912. 1660 passengers and crew were rescued and survived, while 46 people died as a consequence of the collision.[1] The evacuated luxury liner capsized and sank the following morning. Life Magazine coverage of the SS Andrea Doria sinking… The incident and its aftermath were heavily covered by the media. While the rescue efforts were both successful and commendable, the cause of the collision and the loss of the Andrea Doria afterward generated much interest in the media and many lawsuits. Largely because of an out-of-court settlement agreement between the two shipping companies during hearings immediately after the disaster, no resolution of the cause(s) was ever formally accomplished. Although the majority of blame appeared initially to fall to the Italian liner, more recent discoveries have indicated a likelihood that a misreading of radar on the Swedish ship may have initiated the collision course that led to some errors on both ships that resulted in the disaster. The Andrea Doria was the last major transatlantic passenger vessel to sink before aircraft became the preferred method of travel. Newsreel Video on YouTube…