Nantucket, as most of us recall, is a little island on the eastern seaboard of the United States, a few miles off the coast of Massachusetts. On the evening of this day 41 years ago, two ocean liners, steaming in opposite directions, were in its close proximity:
Alien they seemed to be
No mortal eye could see
The intimate welding of their later history
Or sign that they were bent
By paths coincident
On being twin halves of one august event.
One of these vessels was the Stockholm, which had recently left New York on its way to Scandinavia. The other was a luxurious Italian liner, designed "as a living testament to the importance of beauty in the everyday world". She was headed for New York, and was called the Andrea Doria.
As often happens, the weather was largely to blame for the tragedy that followed. As it approached Nantucket Lightship around 10 pm on July 25th, 1956, the Stockholm was in calm waters under a slightly overcast sky with good visibility. A weak cold front had cleared the area some hours earlier, and in the developing ridge of high pressure behind it, thick fog blanks had formed in several places. Through one of these, the Andrea Doria was heading south-east with engines running at full speed, her captain anxious to make up time that had been lost earlier in the voyage. He was confident that the ship's powerful radar would identify any other vessels in the area in plenty of time to alter course.
And so it did. Indeed, both vessels appeared on the other's radar, but confusion seems to have arise as to whether the "Rules of the Road" - which require ships to pass each other "port-to-port" - should apply. Moreover, the captain of the Stockholm also assumed that he would be able to see the other vessel as it approached, since his ship had not yet encountered the bank of fog
- but shortly afterwards, it did.
At 11.06 pm both ships finally sighted each other through the thickening fog, and a tragic pas-de-deux ensued. The Stockholm swung to starboard, while the captain of the Andrea Doria called "All left!" and brought his ship directly into the other's path. At 11.09 pm the reinforced bow of the Stockholm pierced the starboard side of the Andrea Doria, inflicting a gash that was more than 30
feet in length. It was a fatal wound: 12 hours later the Andrea Doria slipped forever below the surface of the sea, and 50 of the 1,700 souls aboard were drowned.