Andrea Doria, a massive 700 foot long, 90 foot wide, luxury liner that bore the name so often given to Italian war ships, was the pride of the Italia fleet. With a cruising speed of 23 knots, and beautifully appointed, Andrea Doria was hailed as the fastest, largest, and allegedly, the safest of all Italy’s cruise ships when she took her maiden voyage in 1953.
A Preventable Collision
Three years later, on July 25th of 1956, Andrea Doria was on her way to New York City, and was approaching the Nantucket, MA, coast when she was involved in a collision with the MS Stockholm, an ocean liner owned by the Swedish American Line. Though the Stockholm survived the collision, Andrea Doria suffered an immediate list to her starboard side. It was clear that her demise was imminent, and other ships in the area immediately rushed to rescue 1660 passengers and crew members. Due to their quick action, only forty-six people perished in the accident.
Andrea Doria continued to take on water, and sank the next morning. Photographs taken during the sinking reveal eerily empty decks – already, the Andrea Doria was a ghost ship. Even though both the Swedish American Line and the Italia Line decided to settle out of court, investigations at the time placed some blame for the collision on both crews, who were in contact, and could see each other when the accident happened.
The Stockholm survived the collision and went on to provide passengers with luxurious travel for more than fifty years. Today, she is in Havana, Cuba, and is inactive.
Diving Andrea Doria
Photos of the Andrea Doria, lying on her starboard side on the ocean floor, were obtained the day after she went down. Divers Joseph Fox and Peter Gimbel managed to locate the wreckage immediately, and published the eerie footage in Time magazine. Later, Gimbel managed salvage operations – the bank safe, from first class, which contained travelers checks as well as both Canadian and Italian bank notes and US Silver Certificates, was brought to the surface in 1981.
Over the years, divers have retrieved plenty of china, bearing the Italia crest, silver tea and coffee service, and numerous personal effects and other artifacts. Many divers have been injured and some have died, while attempting this cold, challenging deep water dive. While the top of the wreck was once accessible at 160 feet, the wreck has begun to collapse and crumble, and the top is now closer to 200 feet. The famed Gimbel’s hole, which was once used to penetrate the wreck’s interior, has collapsed and penetration is now even more dangerous than it once was.
Still, it is possible to dive Andrea Doria, with the aid of local dive operators that specialize in providing premium deep water dive experiences to advanced divers. Once you arrive, beware of snagged fishing nets, sharp edges, and the current, which can be fierce. You can be certain that you will be well briefed before your dive.
Expeditions occur regularly, and even if you do not get close to Andrea Doria, the sight of her deteriorating wreckage lying on the ocean floor is a compelling one.