SS Andrea Doria: Difference between revisions
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Among ''Andrea Doria''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> passengers were [[Hollywood]] actress [[Ruth Roman]] and her four-year-old son. In the [[1950]] film ''[[Three Secrets]]'', Roman had portrayed a distraught mother waiting to learn whether or not her child had survived a plane crash. She and her son were separated from each other during the collision and evacuation. Rescued, Roman had to wait to learn her child's fate which resulted in a media frenzy for photos as she waited at the pier in [[New York City]] for her child's safe arrival aboard one of the rescue ships. |
Among ''Andrea Doria''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> passengers were [[Hollywood]] actress [[Ruth Roman]] and her four-year-old son. In the [[1950]] film ''[[Three Secrets]]'', Roman had portrayed a distraught mother waiting to learn whether or not her child had survived a plane crash. She and her son were separated from each other during the collision and evacuation. Rescued, Roman had to wait to learn her child's fate which resulted in a media frenzy for photos as she waited at the pier in [[New York City]] for her child's safe arrival aboard one of the rescue ships. |
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The sinking produced a |
The sinking produced a footnote in automotive history, as it resulted in the loss of the [[Chrysler Norseman]], an advanced "one-off" prototype car which had been built for [[Chrysler]] by [[Ghia]] in Italy. The Norseman had been announced as a major attraction of the [[1957]] auto show circuit. However, it had not been shown to the public prior to the disaster. |
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== Aftermath == |
== Aftermath == |
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Revision as of 07:11, 8 December 2005
The SS Andrea Doria was an ocean liner for the Italian Line (Società di navigazione Italia) homeported 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.
On July 25, 1956, while sailing off the coast of Nantucket bound for New York City, the Andrea Doria collided with the eastward-bound Stockholm of the Swedish-American Line in what was to become one of history's most famous maritime disasters. Although most passengers and crew survived, the luxury liner capsized and sank the following morning. The list of the ship left half of Andrea Doria's lifeboats unusable, which might have resulted in significant loss of life, but improvements in communications and rapid responses by other ships averted a great loss of life similar in scale to the Titanic tragedy over 40 years earlier.
The disaster and sinking were heavily covered by the news media. The Andrea Doria was the last major transatlantic passenger vessel to sink before airplanes became the preferred method of travel.
Features
Andrea Doria had a length of 697 feet (212 m), a beam of 90 feet (27 m), and a gross tonnage of 29,100.[1] The propulsion system consisted of steam turbines attached to twin screws, enabling the ship to achieve a service speed of 23 knots, with a top speed of 26 knots. Andrea Doria was not the largest vessel nor the fastest of its day: those distinctions went to the RMS Queen Elizabeth and the SS United States, respectively. Instead, Andrea Doria was designed for luxury. Since it sailed the southern Atlantic routes, Andrea Doria was the first ship to feature three outdoor swimming pools, one for each class (first, cabin, and tourist). The ship was capable of accommodating 218 first-class passengers, 320 cabin-class passengers, and 703 tourist-class passengers[2] on ten decks.[3] With over $1 million spent on artwork and decor of the cabins and public rooms, including a life-size statue of Admiral Doria, many considered the ship to be one of the most beautiful ocean liners ever launched.
In a foreshadowing of its fate, the ship was also considered one of the safest of the time. Equipped with a double hull, Andrea Doria was divided into eleven watertight compartments. Any two of these could be filled with water without endangering the ship’s safety. The Andrea Doria also carried enough lifeboats to accommodate all passengers and crew. Furthermore, the ship was equipped with the latest early warning radar. However, even with its technological advantages, the ship had serious flaws related to seaworthiness and safety.
Confirming predictions obtained from model testing during Andrea Doria's design phase, the ship developed a huge list whenever hit by any significant force. This was especially apparent during its maiden voyage, when Andrea Doria listed twenty-eight degrees after being hit by a large wave off Nantucket. The ship's tendency to list was accentuated when the ship's fuel tanks were nearly empty, which was usual at the end of a voyage.[4] The stability issue was one of the topics of focus during the investigations after the collision since the ship's stability was a factor in the crew's inability to use the lifeboats. The design parameters allowed the lowering of the lifeboats at a maximum 20 degrees. Beyond 20 degrees, up to half of the lifeboats could not be deployed.
History
Construction and maiden voyage
At the end of World War II, Italy had lost half its merchant fleet through wartime destruction and Allied forces' seeking reparations. The losses included the SS Rex, a former Blue Riband holder. Furthermore, the country was struggling with a collapsed economy.[5] To show the world that the country had recovered from the war and to reestablish the nation's pride, the Italian Line commissioned two new vessels of similar design in the early 1950s. The first was to be named Andrea Doria with the second vessel, which was launched in 1953, to be named Cristoforo Colombo after Christopher Columbus.
The Andrea Doria started as Yard No. 918 at Ansaldo Shipyard in Genoa. On February 9, 1950, the ship's keel was laid on the No. 1 slipway, and on June 16, 1951, the Andrea Doria was launched. During the ceremony, the ship's hull was blessed by Giuseppe Cardinal Siri, Archbishop of Genoa, and christened by Signora Giuseppina Saragat, wife of the former Minister of the Merchant Marine. However, amid reports of machinery problems during sea trials, the Andrea Doria's maiden voyage was pushed back from December 14, 1952, to January 14, 1953.[6]
During the ship's maiden voyage it ran into heavy storms on the final approach to New York and was delayed by minutes. Nevertheless, the Andrea Doria completed its maiden voyage on January 23 and received a welcoming delegation which included New York Mayor Vincent R. Impellitteri. Afterwards, Andrea Doria became one of Italy's most popular and successful ocean liners as it was always filled to capacity.
Collision at sea
On July 25, 1956, the Andrea Doria, commanded by Captain Piero Calamai, was heading west toward New York from Genoa. At the same time, the Stockholm was heading east toward Gothenburg. The Stockholm was commanded by Captain Gunnar Nordenson, though Third Officer Johan-Ernst Carstens-Johannsen was in command on the bridge at the time.
At 11:10 PM in heavy fog, the Stockholm and the Andrea Doria were approaching each other head-on in a well-used shipping corridor. The original inquiry established that Andrea Doria attempted to avoid a collision by steering to the port (left), instead of following the nautical tradition of passing on the starboard (right). Compounded by the extremely thick fog, as the ships approached each other, guided only by radar, they apparently misinterpreted each others' courses. There was no radio communication between the two ships, and by the time visual contact had been established, they were unable to avoid the collision.
When Andrea Doria and the Stockholm collided at almost a 90-degree angle, the Stockholm's sharp icebreaking prow pierced Andrea Doria's starboard side, penetrating three cabin decks to a depth of nearly 40 feet (12 m). The collision smashed occupied passenger cabins and, at the lower levels, ripped open several of Andrea Doria's watertight compartments. The gash pierced five fuel tanks on Andrea Doria's starboard side and filled them with 500 tons of seawater while air was trapped in the empty tanks on the port side, contributing to an uncorrectable list. The ship's large fuel tanks were mostly empty at the time of the collision since the ship was nearing the end of its voyage.
Forty-six of the 1,706 passengers and crew of Andrea Doria were killed in the collision, while five crew members of the Stockholm who were in the impact area also perished. After the collision, crew members discovered 14-year-old Linda Morgan, an Andrea Doria passenger in Cabin 52, without major injury on the deck of the Stockholm aft of the wrecked bow. She had miraculously survived the impact and apparently been thrown clear while her half sister, who shared her cabin on Andrea Doria, perished.
Immediately after the collision, Andrea Doria began to take on water and started to list severely to starboard. Within minutes, the list was at least 18 degrees. As the water rose, it was soon discovered that one of the watertight doors to the engine room was missing. More importantly, however, stability was lost by the failure during routine operations to ballast the mostly empty fuel tanks as the builders had specified. Due to the immediate rush of seawater flooding the starboard tanks, and the fact that the port tanks were empty, an even greater list occurred than would otherwise have been the case. As the list increased over the next few minutes to 20 degrees or more, Captain Calamai realized there was no hope for his ship. Meanwhile, the two ships drifted apart in the fog.
Rescue: Ile De France turns back to help
On Andrea Doria, the decision to abandon ship was made within 30 minutes of impact. However, lifeboat operations were difficult since half of the lifeboats were on the port side, which made them unlaunchable due to the severe list. A distress message was relayed to other ships by radio, and passengers unable to use the lifeboats on Andrea Doria were eventually rescued by the Stockholm and other responding ships.
A major turning point in the disaster was the decision by the captain of SS Ile de France, a larger eastbound French Line ship which had passed the westbound Andrea Doria many hours earlier, to turn back to assist. Ile de France managed to rescue the bulk of the remaining passengers by shuttling its ten lifeboats back and forth to the Andrea Doria, and had sufficient capacity to accommodate the extra passengers. Some passengers on the Ile de France gave up their cabins to be used by the wet and tired survivors. Several smaller ships also responded. As a result, loss of life was limited to those killed in the actual collision, and one child (four-year-old Norma di Sandro) who suffered a fatal head injury during the loading of lifeboats.
By daylight, everyone had been evacuated from Andrea Doria, and inquiries were made about towing it to shallow water. However, it was clear to those watching helplessly at the scene that the stricken ocean liner was continuing to roll on its side. Andrea Doria finally capsized and sank 11 hours after the collision, at 10:09 AM on July 26, in an event covered widely by local media. Spectacular aerial photography of the stricken ocean liner capsizing and sinking won a Pulitzer Prize in 1957 for Harry A. Trask of the Boston Traveler newspaper.
ABC Radio Network news commentator Edward P. Morgan, based in New York City, broadcast a professional account of the collision, not telling listeners that his 14-year-old daughter was aboard Andrea Doria and feared dead. He did not know that Linda Morgan, the "miracle girl", was alive and aboard the heavily damaged Stockholm, which was able to steam back to New York under its own power. After learning the good news, his emotional broadcast became one of the more memorable in radio news history.
Among Andrea Doria's passengers were Hollywood actress Ruth Roman and her four-year-old son. In the 1950 film Three Secrets, Roman had portrayed a distraught mother waiting to learn whether or not her child had survived a plane crash. She and her son were separated from each other during the collision and evacuation. Rescued, Roman had to wait to learn her child's fate which resulted in a media frenzy for photos as she waited at the pier in New York City for her child's safe arrival aboard one of the rescue ships.
The sinking produced a footnote in automotive history, as it resulted in the loss of the Chrysler Norseman, an advanced "one-off" prototype car which had been built for Chrysler by Ghia in Italy. The Norseman had been announced as a major attraction of the 1957 auto show circuit. However, it had not been shown to the public prior to the disaster.
Aftermath
Litigation and determination of fault: 1956
There were several months of hearings in New York City in the aftermath of the collision. Prominent maritime attorneys represented both the ships' owners. Dozens of attorneys represented victims and families of victims. Officers of both ship lines had testified, including the officers in charge of each ship, with more scheduled to appear later when an out-of-court settlement was reached, and the hearings ended abruptly.
Both shipping lines contributed to a settlement fund for the victims. Each line sustained its own damages. For the Swedish-American Line, damages were estimated at $2 million, half for repairs to Stockholm's bow, and half for lost business during repairs. The Italian Line sustained a loss of Andrea Doria's full value, estimated to be $30 million.
In the end, heavy fog would be the main reason given as the cause of the accident. However, at the time, these other factors were cited by some observers.
- Andrea Doria's officers had not followed proper radar procedures or used the plotting equipment available in the chartroom adjacent to the bridge of their ship to calculate the position and speed of the other (approaching) ship. Thus, they failed to realize Stockholm's size, speed, and course.
- Andrea Doria had not followed the proper "Rules of the Road"[7] in which a ship should turn to right (to starboard) in case of a possible head-on crossing at sea. As the Stockholm turned right, Andrea Doria turned left (to port), closing the circle instead of opening it. Beyond a certain point, it became impossible to avoid a collision.
- Captain Calamai of Andrea Doria was deliberately speeding in heavy fog, an admittedly common practice on passenger liners. The navigation rules required speed to be reduced during periods of limited visibility to a stopping distance within half the distance of visibility. As a practical matter, this would have meant reducing the speed of the ship to virtually zero in the dense fog.
- The Stockholm and the Andrea Doria were experiencing different weather conditions immediately prior to the collision. The collision occurred in an area of the northern Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Massachusetts where heavy and intermittent fog is common. Although Andrea Doria had been engulfed in the fog for several hours, the Stockholm had only recently entered the bank and was still acclimating to atmospheric conditions. The officer in charge of the Stockholm incorrectly assumed that his inability to see the other vessel was due to conditions other than fog, such as the other ship being a very small fishing vessel or a blacked-out warship on maneuvers. He had no idea it was another passenger liner speeding through fog.
- Andrea Doria 's fuel tanks were allowed to remain empty rather than being ballasted with sea water, as specified by the ship's builders. This practice was a common operating economy. By allowing the fuel tanks to remain empty after the fuel was consumed, the ship rode higher in the water and required less effort, and therefore less fuel, to maintain speed. The lack of ballast likely contributed greatly to the ship's post-collision behavior, from the immediate, severe, and uncorrectable list following the collision sequence to the fact that it actually capsized before sinking.
- There was also perhaps a "missing" watertight door between bulkheads near the engine room, which was thought to have contributed to Andrea Doria 's problems.
Both lines had an incentive to limit the public discussion of Andrea Doria 's structural and stability problems. Stockholm's owners had another new ship, the Gripsholm, under construction at Ansaldo Shipyard[8] in Italy. Andrea Doria's designers and engineers had been scheduled to testify, but the hearings were abruptly concluded before their testimony could be heard due to the settlement agreement.
Resulting reforms
The Andrea Doria-Stockholm collision led to several rule changes to avoid a recurrence. Shipping lines were required to improve training on the use of radar equipment. Also, approaching ships were required to make radio contact with one another.
Later investigations and study
Unanswered questions about the tragedy, and questions of cause and blame, have intrigued observers and haunted survivors for almost 50 years. Captain Calamai never assumed another command, and died a broken man.
Recent discoveries using newer undersea diving technology and computer animation have shed additional light on some aspects.
- Exploration of Andrea Doria's impact area revealed that Stockholm's bow had ripped a much larger gash in the critical area of the large fuel tanks and watertight compartments of the Italian liner than had been thought in 1956. The question of the "missing" watertight door, although still unanswered, was probably moot: Andrea Doria was doomed immediately after the collision.
- Recent studies and computer simulations carried out by Captain Robert J. Meurn of the United States Merchant Marine Academy and based on the findings of John C. Carrothers suggest Stockholm Third Officer Carstens-Johannsen misinterpreted radar data and badly overestimated the distance between the two ships. The poor design of the radar settings, coupled with unlighted range settings and a darkened bridge, make this scenario likely. Some critics have suggested that a simple and available technology, a small light bulb on the radar set aboard the Stockholm, might have averted the entire tragedy.
Diving on the wreck site
Due to the luxurious appointments and relatively good condition of the wreck, with the top of the wreck lying initially in only 160 feet (50 m) of water, Andrea Doria is a frequent target of treasure divers and is commonly referred to as the "Mount Everest of scuba diving."
The day after Andrea Doria sank, divers Peter Gimbel and Joseph Fox managed to locate the wreck of the ship, and published pictures of the wreck in TIME magazine. Gimbel later conducted a number of salvage operations on the ship, including salvaging the First Class Bank Safe in 1981. Despite speculation that passengers had deposited many valuables, the safe, opened on live television in 1984, yielded little other than American silver certificates and Italian bank notes. This disappointing outcome apparently confirmed other speculation that most Andrea Doria passengers, in anticipation of the ship's scheduled arrival in New York City the following morning, had already retrieved their valuables prior to the collision. The ship's bell was taken in the late 1980s, and the statue of Genoese Admiral Andrea Doria, for whom the ship was named, was removed from the first-class lounge. Examples of the ship's china have long been considered valuable mementos of diving the wreck. However, after years of removal of artifacts by divers, little of value is thought to remain.
Artifact recovery on the Andrea Doria has not been without additional loss of life. Dozens of scuba divers have lost their lives diving the wreck, and diving conditions at the wreck site are considered very treacherous. Strong currents and heavy sediment that can reduce visibility to zero pose as serious hazards to diving this site. Dr. Robert Ballard, who visited the site in a U.S. Navy submersible in 1995, reported that thick fishing nets draped the hull. An invisible web of thin fishing lines, which can easily snag scuba gear, provides more danger. Furthermore, the wreck is slowly collapsing; the top of the wreck is now at 190 feet (60 m), and many of the passageways have begun to collapse.
Heritage
Stockholm's bow was repaired at a cost of $1 million. Today, it sails as a refurbished cruise ship, the MS Athena.
The story of the accident was retold by Alvin Moscow in his book Collision Course: The Story of the Collision Between the 'Andrea Doria' and the 'Stockholm'. It was published in 1959.
A group of survivors remains in contact with each other through a web site run by an Andrea Doria survivor. Some stay in touch through a newsletter, and there have been reunions and memorial services.
The Andrea Doria was also mentioned in and served as an inspiration to the entertainment industry. In an episode of the American TV sitcom Seinfeld, George Costanza has a chance to get a new apartment, but another prospective tenant uses the fact that he was aboard the Andrea Doria at the time of the collision to win approval from the condo board, much to George's annoyance. The movie Ghost Ship featured a ship, the Antonia Graza, which was loosely based on the Andrea Doria.
Notes
- ^ Comparison Chart. PBS Online - Lost Liners.
- ^ Andrea Doria. LostLiners.com.
- ^ Passenger Accommodation Deck Plan. Andrea Doria: Tragedy and Rescue at Sea.
- ^ Othfors, Daniel. Andrea Doria. The Great Ocean Liners.
- ^ Andrea Doria. LostLiners.com.
- ^ The Ships: Andrea Doria. Andrea Doria: Tragedy and Rescue at Sea.
- ^ Navigation Rules Online (July 12, 2005). U.S. Coast Guard - Navigation Center.
- ^ Othfors, Daniel. Gripsholm. The Great Ocean Liners.
References
- . ISBN 0786862963.
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{{cite book}}: Empty citation (help) - . ISBN 1585744573.
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Online
- Andrea Doria - Tragedy and Rescue at Sea (July 23, 2005). AndreaDoria.org.
- Othfors, Daniel. Andrea Doria. The Great Ocean Liners.
- Andrea Doria: The Grand Dame of the Sea (2000). LostLiners.com.
- Andrea Doria. Lost Liners: PBS Online.