MS Kungsholm (1953)

History
Kungsholm In 1954.

Name:	1953—1965: Kungsholm 1965—1981: Europa 1981—1985: Columbus C.
Owner:	1953—1965: Swedish American Line 1965—1970: North German Lloyd 1970—1981: Hapag-Lloyd 1981—1985: Independent Continental Lines
Operator:	1953—1965: Swedish American Line 1965—1970: North German Lloyd 1970—1981: Hapag-Lloyd 1981—1985: Costa Cruises
Port of registry:	1953—1965: Gothenburg, Sweden 1965—1981: Bremen, West Germany 1981—1985: Panama City, Panama
Ordered:	1 April 1950
Builder:	De Schelde, Vlissingen, The Netherlands
Yard number:	273
Launched:	18 October 1952
Christened:	18 October 1952 by Princess Sibylla of Sweden
Acquired:	30 September 1953
Maiden voyage:	24 November 1953
In service:	24 November 1953
Identification:	IMO number: 5197664
Fate:	Partially sunk at Cadiz, Spain, 29 July 1984. Scrapped in 1985.
General characteristics (as Kungsholm)
Type:	combined ocean liner / cruise ship
Tonnage:	21,164 GRT; 4,153 tonnes deadweight (DWT)
Length:	182.89 m (600 ft)
Beam:	23.50 m (77 ft 1 in)
Height:	60 m (196 ft 10 in) from keel to mast top
Draught:	13.85 m (45 ft 5 in)
Decks:	9 (6 passenger accessible)
Installed power:	2 × 8-cylinder Burmeister & Wain diesels combined 13503 kW
Propulsion:	2 propellers
Speed:	21 kn (38.89 km/h) service speed
Capacity:	802 passengers (176 first class, 626 tourist class)
Crew:	418
General characteristics (as Europa)
Type:	combined ocean liner / cruise ship
Capacity:	843 passengers (122 first class, 721 tourist class)

MS Kungsholm was a combined ocean liner / cruise ship built in 1953 by the De Schelde shipyard in Vlissingen, The Netherlands for the Swedish American Line. Between 1965 and 1981 she sailed for the North German Lloyd and their successor Hapag-Lloyd as MS Europa. From 1981 until 1984 she sailed for Costa Cruises as MS Columbus C. She sank in the port of Cadiz, Spain after ramming a breakwater on 29 July 1984. The vessel was refloated later that year, but sent to a Barcelona shipbreaker in 1985 for scrapping.

After the end of World War II the Swedish American Line, the company that had been pioneers of cruising during the 1920s, was left in a difficult situation. , the large newbuild that had been planned during the late 1930s, never entered service for them because of the war, with the remaining fleet consisting of ageing ships. The company took delivery of their first post-war ship, the fourth , in 1948. She was a small cargo/passenger liner far removed from the luxury of her pre-war predecessors.

In 1948, during the same year that the Stockholm was delivered, SAL had already begun market research on both sides of the Atlantic, with the prospect of building a new ship in mind. Based on the results of the research, the company decided to order a 20,000 gross register ton combined ocean liner / cruise ship that could accommodate 802 passengers. After contacting 50 shipyards around the world about the prospects of buildings their new ship, SAL placed an order for their new ship with the De Schelde shipyard in The Netherlands on 1 April 1950.

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Wikipedia