Another grand old dame of the seas, the cruise ship Astoria, one of the oldest cruise ships in the world, was up for auction recently, according to The Maritime Executive.

Built in 1948 as a passenger liner/cargo carrier, the ship’s name was originally the Stockholm.  The ship became infamous after colliding with the Italian liner Andrea Doria on July 25, 1956, in patchy fog off Nantucket, Massachusetts. The Stockholm was badly damaged, but the Andrea Doria sank, and more than 50 aboard died.

In the 1960s, the vessel became an East German holiday ship until 1985, when she was reconstructed in Italy, and returned to service in 1994. After a series of name changes, she was finally dubbed the Astoria in 2016. 

The pandemic stopped the cruise industry in its tracks. She was bought by an investment group in 2021, but was never put back in service. She quietly decayed as rumors of plans to revive her or sell her persisted. Views of the ship are available at the Exploring the Unbeaten Path YouTube page.

Rumors of scrapping peaked in 2024. And now that sad end is near. A Belgian recycling company, Galloo, bought the ship with the minimum opening bid of $230,000, plus outstanding dock fees. Galloo plans to move the 525-foot ship to a recycling yard in July, and expects that 97% of the ship will be recyclable. What a dismal demise. (Photo: Ships Monthly)