During the late evening of July 25, 1956, two cruise ships collided in the North Atlantic well south of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts, in a dense fog. The disaster, which claimed 51 lives, triggered one of the largest maritime rescues in recorded history. The tragic story captured the interest of news media and the nation at that time.
The Andrea Doria
As World War Two ended, Italy was crushed both economically and psychologically. Italy was desperate to regain a sense of national pride. One of the ways Italy attempted to accomplish this was to commission the construction of two world-class cruise ships. They would be state of the art with all the “bells and whistles”.
The ships were named the Andrea Doria and the Christoforo Columbo (named after Christopher Columbus). Andrea Doria was a famous Italian and his fame in Italy is considered on par with for George Washington here in the U.S. Doria fought in many maritime battles during the early 1500s and was credited as the first mariner to sail against the wind.
Italy had actually named a number of ships after Andrea Doria which included a battleship which was launched in 1913.
Making its maiden voyage across the Atlantic in 1953, the Andrea Doria did indeed have all the “bells and whistles”. The ship was nearly 700 feet long and weighed 29,000 tons. It included three outdoor swimming polls, famous paintings, and surrealist murals. There was also a life-sized bronze statue of Andrea as well.
There were a number of safety features that were included. It had a double hull and was divided into 11 watertight compartments Any two of these could be lled with water and the ship would still be safe. There were 6 steel lifeboats two 70-person motorboats with inboard radio transmitters. It also had a state of the art radar warning system. The ship was deemed “unsinkable”.
There were a few concerns, however. On its maiden voyage in 1953, she was struck by a large wave off the coast of Nantucket Island and is to 28 degrees. The list was greater when the fuel tanks were closer to empty, common at the and of Trans-Atlantic voyages.
The Andrea Doria completed 100 Trans-Atlantic crossings from 1953 to 1956. The ship departed from Genoa, Italy on July 17, 1956, and made three stops around the Mediterranean before partaking on a 9-day ocean voyage across the Atlantic with a crew of 572 and 1,134 passengers which included immigrants, business people, and vacationers.
A Catastrophic Collision
On July 25th, the SS Andrea Doria entered the more heavily trafficked waters off the coast of New England. On that Wednesday the Swedish cruise ship M.S. Stockholm departed the Port of New York on its way to Gothenburg, Sweden just before noon. The Stockholm was one of the smaller cruise ships of that time (524 feet) and it accommodated 548 passengers. The ship’s prow was fitted with a steel rake designed to smash through thick ice.
That day was a very warm and humid one when the Stockholm departed but skies were mainly clear and visibility was good. As the Andrea Doria continued to move toward the U.S. East Coast it began to run into patches of fog. The fog became more prevalent as the afternoon progressed into the evening. Fog around the New England Coast is not unusual during the summer months, in an area where warm and cold ocean currents come together. addition, when humidity levels are high, the cooler ocean waters enhance condensation.
Captain Piero Calamai of the Andrea Doria reduced his forward speed only slightly when he began to move toward the thick fog. The standard rules indicate that captains should slow ships to a crawl under these conditions, It was common, however, for captains to not adhere to the rules if they were running behind on time.
Captain Calmai did activate the fog-warning whistle and closed the watertight doors. Meanwhile, the Stockholm continued to progress under clear conditions and the crew was unaware of the fog that they would soon encounter. The air temperature at that time was reported to be around 70 degrees,
At about 10:45 p.m. the Andrea Doria’s radar saw a blip on the screen which was the Stockholm. The Stockholm saw the Andrea Doria on its radar, as well, as it moved into a much denser fog. It was only after a later investigation that there was a major problem with the radar on the Stockholm and it misplaced the Andrea Doria’s position.
Instead of avoiding each other, both ships made maneuvers that put them on a direct collision course. Around 11:10 p.m. Captain Calarmi saw the Stockholm’s lights through the thick fog.
According to an article at www.history.com one of the officers cried out “she’s coming right at us”.
The steel rake, mentioned earlier, of the Stockholm, crashed into the Andrea Doris with unbelievable force and penetrated about 30 feet into its hull. It stayed lodged in the Andria Doria for several seconds before breaking loose and leaving a massive hole.
Needless to say, panicked passengers on the Andrea Dorea created a scene of chaos. Several saw the light of the Stockholm just before the collision. The sound of the collision was deafening.
Lights went out and there was the smell of burning electrical circuits and smoke filled the hallways. Bottles were thrown all over and there was crashing glass all around. There were screams of panic. Many passengers just held on to each other as they made their way to the deck, some with lifejackets in their hands.
The Google map indicates the location of the collision of the Andrea Doria and Stockholm late on July 25, 1956.
It was later determined that at the moment of collision, 46 people were crushed to death. A four year-old Italian girl was dropped by accident head first into a lifeboat and her father died of a heart attack later. Another woman died trying to board a lifeboat.
In the midst of the tragedy, there was a “miracle” A fourteen-year-old girl Linda Morgan, who lost her mother and sister upon impact, was thrown out of her bed and onto the deck of the Stockholm. She did suffer a broken arm but she survived. Meanwhile, five crew members perished on board the Stockholm at the moment of impact. Those were the only deaths reported on that ship.
This photo shows 14-year old Linda Morgan being medically treated after being was thrown from her bed on the Andrea Doria to the deck of the Stockholm after the collision. Photo Credit-Wikipedia-Public Domain.
After the collision, passengers boarded lifeboats from the Andrea Doria and the Stockholm.
The Andrea Doria began to “list” after the crash to 20 degrees. That allowed the ship to take on large amounts of water above the watertight compartments which were only 15 feet high. The ship eventually sank the next morning, but the slowness of that occurrence saved hundreds of lives.
A photo of a severely crippled Andrea Doria shortly before sinking in the Atlantic after a tragic collision with the cruise ship Stockholm on July 26, 1956. Photo Credit-Wikipedia-Public Domain.
Rescue
Distress signals were issued by the captains. Here is one of them
SOS DE ICEH [this is Andrea Doria] SOS HERE AT 0320 GMT LAT. 40.30 N 69.53 W NEED IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE
A freighter the Cape Ann was the rst ship to answer the distress calls. A U.S. Navy transport sip then cam on the scene a destroyer and Coast Guard cutter followed.
The rescue effort was one of the largest in maritime history. By 5:30 a.m. all of the Andrea Doria’s survivors were rescued, some went to the Stockholm and others on ships like the Isle de France.
Captain Calamai was ready to go down with the ship but when his crew refused to leave him behind, he boarded the last lifeboat, Calamai would never command a cruise ship again. At 10:09 a.m, on July 26th with the rescue eet on the way to New York, the Andrea Doria disappeared from view and sank to the bottom of the ocean.
The Stockholm managed to return to the Port of New York under its own power.
The July 26, 1956 photo shows a severely damaged Stockholm after its collision with the Andrea Doria. Photo credit-Wikipedia/ Public Domain.
Epilogue
There was extensive news coverage of this tragedy at the time and for many years to come. As opposed to the Titanic in 1912, there was both radio and television in 1956. Also, the collision occurred neatly the U.S. Coast New York as the point of departure for the Stockholm and the destination for the Andrea Doria.
Many family and friends of the passengers gathered at the Port of New York on July 26th awaiting news of their loved ones. Fortunately, most survived.
On his daily broadcast, ABC news commentator Edward P. Morgan reported a detailed account of the collision. What he didn’t tell his listeners was that his daughter, Linda, was a passenger on the Andrea Doria and was feared dead.
Linda Morgan, dubbed the “miracle girl”, regained consciousness on the Stockholm where she was thrown. Born in Mexico City, her rst words in Spanish were: I was on the Andrea Doria where am I now?”
She was taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York City where Sister Loretta Bernard gave her A Miracle Medal of Our Lady.
Linda suffered “survivors guilt’ throughout her life. In 1968 she married Phill Hardberger. They moved to San Antonio. Texas, in 1970. Linda became a curator at an art museum and Phil became mayor of San Antonio in 2005. Linda passed away in 2009.
In the movie “On The Waterfront” in 1954, The Andrea Doria appeared briefy along the Hudson River during a scene that featured Marlon Brando’s character, Terry Malloy.
Many family and friends of the passengers gathered at the Port of New York on July 26th awaiting news of their loved ones. Fortunately, most survived.
On his daily broadcast, ABC news commentator Edward P. Morgan reported a detailed account of the collision. What he didn’t tell his listeners was that his daughter, Linda, was a passenger on the Andrea Doria and was feared dead.
Linda Morgan, dubbed the “miracle girl”, regained consciousness on the Stockholm where she was thrown. Born in Mexico City, her first words in Spanish were: I was on the Andrea Doria where am I now?”
She was taken to St. Vincent’s Hospital in New York City where Sister Loretta Bernard gave her A Miracle Medal of Our Lady.
Linda suffered “survivors guilt’ throughout her life. In 1968 she married Phill Hardberger. They moved to San Antonio. Texas, in 1970. Linda became a curator at an art museum and Phil became mayor of San Antonio in 2005. Linda passed away in 2009.
After investigations and a Congressional hearings, here are a couple of finings.
The officers on the Andrea Doria did not follow proper radar procedures or used the plotting equipment available in the chartroom adjacent to the bridge of their ship to plot and then calculate the course, position and speed of the other (approaching) ship. Thus, they failed to realize Stockholm‘s speed and course
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.
After a one million dollar repair, the Stockholm returned to service. it was sold to East Germany in 1960 then sold to Italy. It was renamed, Athena. In December of 2008, Athena was attacked by pirates in the Gulf of Aden A U.S. Navy P-3 Orion aircraft chased the pirates away.
The name of the ship was changed to “Astoria,” and it was registered to Portugal . The Astoria was last used by Cruise and Maritime Voyages until the company’s shutdown in 2020. In June 2025, she was sold to a Belgian firm for dismantling.
