MS Svea Corona
Encyclopedia
MS
Svea Corona was a car-passenger ferry
built in 1975 by Dubegion-Normandie S.A., Nantes
, France
for Rederi AB Svea
, Sweden
for Silja Line
traffic. She was later rebuilt as a cruiseship and known under names MS Sundancer and MS Pegasus. She was scrapped in 1995 in Aliağa
, Turkey
.
and MS Svea Regina had been delivered in 1972 and started around the year ferry traffic between Helsinki
, the capital of Finland
and Stockholm
, the capital of Sweden
. After just three years of traffic the first generation ships were replaced by three new ships of similar but larger construction: the Svea Corona and her sisters MS Wellamo and MS Bore Star. These ships started a new era in Baltic Sea
ferry traffic, being larger than any previous ferries to have sailed in those waters.
On 24 May 1975, the Svea Corona started service for Silja Line. She damaged her bow thruster during the maiden voyage, and it was not repaired until 10 June of the same year during an extra docking at Vuosaaren telakka, Helsinki. When all three sisters were complete it turned out there weren't enough passengers on the route to support three ships in around the year traffic. As an initial solution the Bore Star was chartered to Finnlines
for winter seasons 1975-76 and 1976-77 while Svea Corona and Wellamo served the route as a two-ship operation. During the summer seasons an unusual schedule that allowed two daily departures from each port with three ships was adopted instead of the route's normal one daily departure per port -arrangement. On 14 April 1977 there was a bomb threat onboard the Svea Corona, but it turned out to be false.
From September 1977 onwards the Svea Corona served on the Turku
–Mariehamn
–Stockholm route during the winter season (between September and May) and spent the summer months as a third ship on the Helsinki–Stockholm service. The arrangement lasted until 1981 when larger tonnage was delivered to the Helsinki–Stockholm route, and Svea Corona alongside her sister Bore Star (which had been renamed Silja Star the previous year after a change of ownership) transferred permanently to the Turku–Stockholm service. In 1978 Rederi AB Svea had signed a memorandum of agreement
to sell Svea Corona to DFDS
on delivery of the new Helsinki–Stockholm ship, but this agreement was not exercised and DFDS acquired Effoa's Wellamo instead. On 24 November 1981, Svea Corona
. As a result the ship lost her original white/black funnel colours and gained Johnson Line's blue/yellow colours.
, Johnson Line and McDonald Enterprises. She was rebuilt at Oskarshamns Varv, Sweden
as MS Sundancer for cruising on the west coast of North America
. However, on what was just her third cruise as the Sundancer, the ship went aground in Duncan Bay on the night between 29 June and 30 June, and her hull was ruptured. All passengers were safely evacuated, but the ship had to be beached to avoid sinking. The ship developed a list to starboard with water up to the read deck.
In August 1984 the Sundancer was refloated and towed into Burrard Shipyard, Vancouver, where she was examined and declared a constructive total loss. The ship was left laid up at the shipyard, awaiting potential buyers. In November 1984 she was sold to the Greece
-based Epirotiki Line
, and during December 1984 she ship was towed to Pireus, Greece, where she was restored during the year 1985 as the cruiseship MS Pegasus. During early 1986 she was chartered to V.T.C. for cruising on the east coast of South America
. Between May and September of the same year she returned to Vancouver, where she was laid up as a hotel ship. After the charter she was used by Epirotiki Lines on cruises on the Mediterranean and between 1989 and 1990 also on the Caribbean
.
On June 2, 1991 a fire broke out onboard while the ship was in Venice
, preparing to depart on a product exhibition cruise for Bosch
. She partially sank in the shallow waters, and was declared a total constructive loss for the second time. In August of the same year she was towed to Pireus where she was laid up for the next three years awaiting buyers. Finally in 1994 a buyer emerged. The Greece-based Strintzis Line purchased the ship and renamed her Ionian Express, with intention to rebuild her as a car-passenger ferry for their Swansea Cork Ferries (although officially renamed Ionian Express, this name was never painted on her hull). A fire broke out in her engine room while the rebuilding at Perama
, Greece, and for a third time the ship was declared a total constructive loss. No further buyers were found to restore the ill-fated ship, and she was towed to the scrapyard in Aliağa
, Turkey
, on 29 March 1995, and was subsequently broken up. Her engines were sold to Med Link Line and installed on their M/S Agios Andreas.
and swimming pool
, several restaurants, conference facilities for 140 people, a night club, movie theatre, children's playroom and tax free shops. Additional care was taken to separate spaces for the non-smokers and well as smokers
. Every cabin included en suite facilities, a three-channel radio and automatic wake-up. However, the soundproofing in the cabins was poor.
Ship prefix
A ship prefix is a combination of letters, usually abbreviations, used in front of the name of a civilian or naval ship.Prefixes for civilian vessels may either identify the type of propulsion, such as "SS" for steamship, or purpose, such as "RV" for research vessel. Civilian prefixes are often...
Svea Corona was a car-passenger ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
built in 1975 by Dubegion-Normandie S.A., Nantes
Nantes
Nantes is a city in western France, located on the Loire River, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the 6th largest in France, while its metropolitan area ranks 8th with over 800,000 inhabitants....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
for Rederi AB Svea
Rederi AB Svea
Stockholms Rederi AB Svea was a Swedish shipping company founded in the 1870s...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
for Silja Line
Silja Line
Silja Line is a Finnish cruiseferry brand operated by the Estonian ferry company AS Tallink Grupp, for car and passenger traffic between Finland and Sweden. The former company Silja Oy – today Tallink Silja Oy – is a subsidiary of Tallink Grupp, handling marketing and sales for Tallink and Silja...
traffic. She was later rebuilt as a cruiseship and known under names MS Sundancer and MS Pegasus. She was scrapped in 1995 in Aliağa
Aliaga
Aliaga can refer to:* Aliaga, Aragon, Spain* Aliağa, Turkey* the Filipino municipality of Aliaga, Nueva Ecija on Luzon* a family name, as in the case of the Peruvian writer Felipe Pardo y Aliaga...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
.
1975–1984
MS Svea Corona was the first of the so-called "second generation French sisters" to be built for Silja Line traffic. The first generation French sisters, MS AallotarMS Aallotar
MS Aallotar was a car-passenger ferry built in 1972 by Dubegion-Normandie S.A., Nantes, France for the Finland Steamship Company, who used her in traffic of the Silja Line marketing company. She was the first car/passenger ferry to operate between Helsinki and Stockholm, and the first ship to offer...
and MS Svea Regina had been delivered in 1972 and started around the year ferry traffic between Helsinki
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...
, the capital of Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, the capital of Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
. After just three years of traffic the first generation ships were replaced by three new ships of similar but larger construction: the Svea Corona and her sisters MS Wellamo and MS Bore Star. These ships started a new era in Baltic Sea
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...
ferry traffic, being larger than any previous ferries to have sailed in those waters.
On 24 May 1975, the Svea Corona started service for Silja Line. She damaged her bow thruster during the maiden voyage, and it was not repaired until 10 June of the same year during an extra docking at Vuosaaren telakka, Helsinki. When all three sisters were complete it turned out there weren't enough passengers on the route to support three ships in around the year traffic. As an initial solution the Bore Star was chartered to Finnlines
Finnlines
Finnlines Plc is a Finnish shipping company that operates freight throughout Northern Europe as well as passenger services in the Baltic Sea. In the past, Finnlines has operated ships under the brands Finncarriers, Finnflow Systems, Finnjet Lines, and FG Shipping Oy Ab...
for winter seasons 1975-76 and 1976-77 while Svea Corona and Wellamo served the route as a two-ship operation. During the summer seasons an unusual schedule that allowed two daily departures from each port with three ships was adopted instead of the route's normal one daily departure per port -arrangement. On 14 April 1977 there was a bomb threat onboard the Svea Corona, but it turned out to be false.
From September 1977 onwards the Svea Corona served on the Turku
Turku
Turku is a city situated on the southwest coast of Finland at the mouth of the Aura River. It is located in the region of Finland Proper. It is believed that Turku came into existence during the end of the 13th century which makes it the oldest city in Finland...
–Mariehamn
Mariehamn
Mariehamn is the capital of Åland, an autonomous territory under Finnish sovereignty. Mariehamn is the seat of the Government and Parliament of Åland, and 40% of the population of Åland live in the city...
–Stockholm route during the winter season (between September and May) and spent the summer months as a third ship on the Helsinki–Stockholm service. The arrangement lasted until 1981 when larger tonnage was delivered to the Helsinki–Stockholm route, and Svea Corona alongside her sister Bore Star (which had been renamed Silja Star the previous year after a change of ownership) transferred permanently to the Turku–Stockholm service. In 1978 Rederi AB Svea had signed a memorandum of agreement
Memorandum of Agreement
A memorandum of agreement or cooperative agreement is a document written between parties to cooperatively work together on an agreed upon project or meet an agreed objective. The purpose of an MOA is to have a written understanding of the agreement between parties.An MOA is a good tool to use for...
to sell Svea Corona to DFDS
DFDS
DFDS is a Danish shipping company. It is one of the world's largest ferry operators. The companies name is an acronym of Det Forenede Dampskibs-Selskab DFDS is a Danish shipping company. It is one of the world's largest ferry operators. The companies name is an acronym of Det Forenede...
on delivery of the new Helsinki–Stockholm ship, but this agreement was not exercised and DFDS acquired Effoa's Wellamo instead. On 24 November 1981, Svea Corona
Johnson Line
Johnson Line was a Sweden-based shipping line founded in 1904 as a subsidiary of Rederi AB Nordstjernan. In 1982 Johnson Line absorbed Rederi AB Svea, another Rederi AB Nordstjernan -owned company, hence becoming a member of the Finnish-Swedish Silja Line consortium...
. As a result the ship lost her original white/black funnel colours and gained Johnson Line's blue/yellow colours.
1984–1995
In February 1984 Svea Corona ceased service with Silja Line, and was sold to Sundance Cruises, a company owned by EffoaEffoa
Finland Steamship Company was a Finnish shipping company founded in 1883 by Captain Lars Krogius. In Finnish and Swedish The company was usually referred to simply as FÅA. In 1976, the company changed its name to Effoa, a phonetic spelling of the abbreviation FÅA.The company was a founding member...
, Johnson Line and McDonald Enterprises. She was rebuilt at Oskarshamns Varv, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
as MS Sundancer for cruising on the west coast of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. However, on what was just her third cruise as the Sundancer, the ship went aground in Duncan Bay on the night between 29 June and 30 June, and her hull was ruptured. All passengers were safely evacuated, but the ship had to be beached to avoid sinking. The ship developed a list to starboard with water up to the read deck.
In August 1984 the Sundancer was refloated and towed into Burrard Shipyard, Vancouver, where she was examined and declared a constructive total loss. The ship was left laid up at the shipyard, awaiting potential buyers. In November 1984 she was sold to the Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
-based Epirotiki Line
Epirotiki Line
Epirotiki Line was a shipping company that operated from the mid 1850s to the late 1990s. Epirotiki Line operated mainly cruise vessels, but also operated a variety of other vessels such as cargo and tanker vessels.-Foundation:...
, and during December 1984 she ship was towed to Pireus, Greece, where she was restored during the year 1985 as the cruiseship MS Pegasus. During early 1986 she was chartered to V.T.C. for cruising on the east coast of South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. Between May and September of the same year she returned to Vancouver, where she was laid up as a hotel ship. After the charter she was used by Epirotiki Lines on cruises on the Mediterranean and between 1989 and 1990 also on the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
.
On June 2, 1991 a fire broke out onboard while the ship was in Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, preparing to depart on a product exhibition cruise for Bosch
Robert Bosch GmbH
Robert Bosch GmbH is a multinational engineering and electronics company headquartered in Gerlingen, near Stuttgart, Germany. It is the world's largest supplier of automotive components...
. She partially sank in the shallow waters, and was declared a total constructive loss for the second time. In August of the same year she was towed to Pireus where she was laid up for the next three years awaiting buyers. Finally in 1994 a buyer emerged. The Greece-based Strintzis Line purchased the ship and renamed her Ionian Express, with intention to rebuild her as a car-passenger ferry for their Swansea Cork Ferries (although officially renamed Ionian Express, this name was never painted on her hull). A fire broke out in her engine room while the rebuilding at Perama
Perama
Perama is a port city and a suburb of Piraeus that lies on the southwest edge of the Aegaleo mountains. It creates the western terminus of the Port of Piraeus and there is also a port that provides ferry services to Salamis. The town has only one main road connecting Lambrakis and Ralli Avenues,...
, Greece, and for a third time the ship was declared a total constructive loss. No further buyers were found to restore the ill-fated ship, and she was towed to the scrapyard in Aliağa
Aliaga
Aliaga can refer to:* Aliaga, Aragon, Spain* Aliağa, Turkey* the Filipino municipality of Aliaga, Nueva Ecija on Luzon* a family name, as in the case of the Peruvian writer Felipe Pardo y Aliaga...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, on 29 March 1995, and was subsequently broken up. Her engines were sold to Med Link Line and installed on their M/S Agios Andreas.
Facilities
Interior features of the Svea Corona (and her sisters) included a saunaSauna
A sauna is a small room or house designed as a place to experience dry or wet heat sessions, or an establishment with one or more of these and auxiliary facilities....
and swimming pool
Swimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
, several restaurants, conference facilities for 140 people, a night club, movie theatre, children's playroom and tax free shops. Additional care was taken to separate spaces for the non-smokers and well as smokers
Tobacco smoking
Tobacco smoking is the practice where tobacco is burned and the resulting smoke is inhaled. The practice may have begun as early as 5000–3000 BCE. Tobacco was introduced to Eurasia in the late 16th century where it followed common trade routes...
. Every cabin included en suite facilities, a three-channel radio and automatic wake-up. However, the soundproofing in the cabins was poor.