History


       
RETURN TO THE HOMEPAGE                                                                                                                                                                                                                    M/S KUNGSHOLM 1965


 
The M/S Kungsholm was the last passenger ship built for the Swedish American Line. She served on the transatlantic service and on cruises. She soon became known as one of the most luxurious and beautiful liners on the oceans.

Design and Construction (1964 – 1965):

She was built by John Brown & Co. (Clydebank) Ltd on the River Clyde in Scotland. This was the same yard that had built famous ships such as the Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, the Royal Yacht Britannia and many others over the years. Her keel was laid in 1964 and she was launched on the 14th April 1965. In April 1966 she entered service with Swedish American Line.

She was the fourth SAL ship to carry this name and she was named after the Kungsholmen (Kings Isle) part of Stockholm where the City Hall is located. She was a most beautiful ship while yet being modern. She was fully air conditioned and fitted with stablisers. She also was the first Swedish American Line ship with a bulbous forefoot and had the latest navigation and safety equipment. Her radio mast was telescopic so that it could be lowered to enable her to pass under low bridges. She had four tenders which had two-way telephone communication directly with her bridge and her lifeboats had motor powered two-way radio equipment.

Swedish American Line era (1965 – 1975):

The Kungsholm sailed on her maiden voyage from Gothenburg to New York in April 1966. At the time of her construction she was the largest and most powerful motor liner in the world. She was a dual role vessel, operating the Gothenburg to New York transatlantic service for part of the year and making luxury cruises for the remainder of the year. She was an impressive and stylish ship and was the closest that Swedish American Line ever got to recapturing the scale and quality of ship that they had intended in the Stockholm of 1938 that sadly was lost during the Second World War. Sadly by the late 1960s and early 1970s due to the impact of air travel on the transatlantic services and the inability to make a profit in the new climate and unwilling to compromise their quality and luxurious standards, Swedish American Line decided to withdraw from passenger shipping in August 1975 after 60 glorious years. As a result the Kungsholm was retired from service.

Flagship Cruises era (1975):

Thankfully when Swedish American Line withdrew from passenger shipping and retired the Kungsholm this was not the end for this magnificent and beautiful ship. She was sold to the Norwegian owned Flagship Cruises and continued in cruise service. Unfortunately this situation did not last long as in 1979 she was sold again.

P&O Princess Cruises era (1979 – 1991):

Flagship Cruises sold the Kungsholm to P&O in 1979. She was acquired as a replacement for the Arcadia in their Princess Cruises operation. However she was first send to the Vulkan shipyard in Bremen for a major rebuild. Her distinctive two funnels were replaced with a single funnel and 86 additional cabins were added and other structural changes made. Sadly these alterations somewhat compromised her once beautiful looks, but she remained an elegant ship nonetheless. She re-emerged in January 1979 as the Sea Princess. She served Princess Cruises for many years based in Australia but later switched to the UK market before moving to the USA from 1986 to 1991.

P&O Cruises era (1991 - 2002):

In 1991 she transferred from Princess Cruises to P&O Cruises and once again served the UK market based in Southampton. In 1995 she was renamed Victoria to release the Sea Princess name for use on a newbuild for Princess Cruises. She became a much loved ship in the P&O Cruises fleet and still retaining something of her Scandinavian background. In 2002 she was retired from service by P&O Cruises and sold to Leonardo Shipping. Her final voyage with P&O Cruises was a cruise from Southampton to Rome departing from Southampton on the 22nd October 2002. She arrived in Civitavecchia (the port for Rome) on the 2nd November 2002 and her P&O Cruises era came to a close.

Topaz International / Leonardo Shipping era (2002 - 2010):

Charter to Holiday Kreuzfahrten (2002 - 2006):

On the 2nd November 2002 after arrival in Rome at the end of her final cruise for P&O Cruises, she set sail for Genoa where she would be refurbished for her new owners Topaz International and charter to the German based Holiday Kreuzfahrten as the Mona Lisa. She soon started operating cruises for the German based company. She continued in this role until November 2006 when Holiday Kreuzfahrten unfortunately went out of business. She was then briefly used as an accommodation ship at the Asian Games 2006 in Doha in Qatar.

Charter to the Asian Games 2006 in Doha, Qatar (2006):

With the collapse of Holiday Kreuzfahrten she sailed to Doha in the Middle East and was then briefly used as an accommodation ship at the Asian Games 2006 in Doha in Qatar in December 2006. After this she returned to Piraeus and was laid up.

Charter to Scholar Ship / Pullmantur Cruises (2007 - 2008):

On the 7th February 2007 it was announced that the Mona Lisa was to be chartered by Scholar Ship (an education programme / seagoing university organised by Royal Caribbean International). Her educational cruises would commence in September 2007. Then on the 1st March 2007 it was announced that the Mona Lisa was also to be chartered by Pullmantur Cruises for part of the year. Both operations are linked with Royal Caribbean International (they had just taken over Pullmantur Cruises). These two charters means that she was kept in service with her duties shared between Pullmantur Cruises (summer) and Scholar Ship (winter). When she sailed with Pullmantur Cruises she was known as Oceanic II and when she was with Scholar Ship she was known as Scholar Ship. However due to insufficient funding Scholar Ship discontinued their charter of the ship and closed down their operations from early September 2008. Pullmantur also no longer charter the ship. So unfortunately from September 2008 it looks as though the Kungsholm will be left with no charters and this increases the risk of her being sold for scrap due to her premature end of the charters and this may mean her early retirement from service in 2008 rather than 2010 as planned.

That leaves a gap in the transition from her ocean going career to her planned new preservation role in Sweden from 2010. I just hope that the Swedish interests can act quickly and acquire her as soon as possible. If not then her owner may feel more and more inclined to sell her for scrap if no charters are forthcoming. Remember she is owned by Leonardo Shipping (Mr Katsoufis) and he is also behind Topaz International (Mr Katsoufis) who owned the former Empress of Britain (Topaz). The career of that ship ended in similar circumstances when the charter was discontinued prematurely and no further charters were forthcoming. As a result the owner acted very quickly and sold the ship for scrap to Alang, India. With the slowing economic climate (due to the credit crunch), sky high oil prices, and massive demand for scrap steel from China and India this makes the scrapping option look very attractive for older oceanliners like the Empress of Britain and Kungsholm. I just hope that Kungsholm can be saved and Sweden's plans for her can be brought forward by two years and implemented now instead. If not then scrapping looks a strong possibility.

Preservation era (2010 - ):

However her longer term future also looks more secure as well. On the 14th April 2007 it was announced that a Swedish businessman, Lars Hallgren (owner of Top Industri AB) had signed a letter of intent with Topaz International / Leonardo Shipping (owners of the former Kungsholm) to purchase her in 2010 when she is retired from service due to the new SOLAS 2010 regulations. The ship will be restored to her Swedish American Line appearance as the Kungsholm and restored to her original external appearance with two funnels. She is to be docked in Gothenburg as a hotel, restaurant and maritime museum. It is likely that she will be berthed at Banana Quay in Gothenburg opposite the Gothenburg Opera House.

So the future of the former Kungsholm seems to look promising with a permanent home being lined up in Gothenburg from 2010.













(c) The AJN Transport Britain Collection 2007                                                                                                                                                                                 A Edward Elliott