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SS Andrea Doria (pronounced [anˈdrɛːa ˈdɔːrja]) was a luxury transatlantic ocean liner of the Italian Line (Società di navigazione Italia), put into service in 1953. She is widely known from the extensive media coverage of her sinking in 1956, which included the remarkably successful rescue of 1,660 of her 1,706 passengers and crew. Named after the 16th-century Genoese admiral Andrea Doria, the ship had a gross register tonnage of 29,100 and a capacity of about 1200 passengers and 500 crew. Of all Italy's ships at the time, Andrea Doria was the largest, fastest and supposedly safest. Launched on 16 June 1951, she was home-ported in Genoa, and began her maiden voyage on 14 January 1953. On 25 July 1956, the New York City–bound vessel was approaching the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, United States, when the eastbound passenger liner Stockholm of the Swedish American Line collided with her. Struck in her starboard side, the top-heavy Andrea Doria immediately started to list severely that way as she took on water, which left half of her lifeboats unusable. The consequent shortage of lifeboats could have resulted in significant loss of life, but the ship stayed afloat for over 11 hours after the collision. The calm, appropriate behavior of the crew, together with improvements in communications, and the rapid response of other ships, averted a disaster similar in scale to that of Titanic in 1912. While 1,660 passengers and crew were rescued and survived, 46 people on the ship died as a direct consequence of the collision. The evacuated luxury liner capsized and sank the following morning. This accident remains the worst maritime disaster to occur in United States waters since the capsizing of the Eastland in Chicago in 1915. While the rescue efforts for both ships were successful, the cause of the collision, culpability, and the loss of Andrea Doria generated much continued interest in the media and many lawsuits. Largely because of an out-of-court settlement agreement between the two shipping companies during hearings immediately after the disaster, no determination of cause was ever formally published. History Features Designed by Italian architect Giulio Minoletti, Andrea Doria had a length of 212 m (696 ft), a beam of 27 m (89 ft), and a gross register tonnage of 29,100. The propulsion system consisted of steam turbines attached to twin screws, enabling the ship to achieve a service speed of 23 knots (43 km/h), with a top speed of 26 knots (48 km/h). She was neither the largest vessel nor the fastest of her day – those distinctions went to the 83,673 GRT RMS Queen Elizabeth and 42 kn (78 km/h) United States; instead, her forte was luxury. When fully booked, the ship was capable of accommodating 1,241 passengers; 218 in first class, 320 in cabin class, and 703 in tourist class. As was the rule aboard transatlantic passenger liners, each passenger class was strictly segregated to specific parts of the ship. First class accommodations were located amidships on the upper decks, cabin class accommodations were located just abaft of first class, and tourist class accommodations were divided between the bow and aft ends and were connected by corridors that ran the full length of the ship. Each class had its own separate dining room, lounges, and social halls, designated areas of open deck space and enclosed promenades, and even their own swimming pools with verandas. A crew of 563 was aboard. Over $1 million was spent on artwork and the decor of the cabins and public rooms, including a life-sized statue of Admiral Doria. Safety and seaworthiness Andrea Doria was built with a double hull divided into 11 watertight compartments. Any two of these could be filled with water without endangering the ship's safety. She was equipped with the latest early-warning radar, and carried sixteen steel lifeboats, eight on each side, enough by regulation to accommodate all passengers and crew. These came in three designs; two 58-person launches for emergency use, two 70-person motorboats with inboard radio transmitters, and 12 146-person hand-propelled rowboats. However, despite its technological advantages, the ship had serious flaws relating to its seaworthiness and safety. Model testing during the design phase predicted she would develop a huge list when hit by any significant force. This was proven during her maiden voyage, when the vessel listed 28° after being hit by a large rogue wave off Nantucket. Her tendency to list was aggravated when her fuel tanks were nearly empty, which was usually at the end of a voyage. This stability issue became a focus of the investigation after the sinking, as it was a factor in both the capsizing and the crew's inability to lower the port-side lifeboats. The bulkheads of the watertight compartments extended only up to the top of A Deck, and a list greater than 20° allowed water from a flooded watertight compartment to pass over its top into adjacent compartments. In addition, the design parameters allowed the lowering of the lifeboats at a maximum 15° list. Beyond this limit, up to half of the lifeboats could not be deployed. Construction At the end of World War II, Italy was struggling with a collapsed economy. It had lost half its merchant fleet through wartime destruction and reparations awarded to various Allied forces. The losses included the bombing and sinking of Rex, a former Blue Riband holder for her record transatlantic crossing. To show the world that the country had recovered from the war, and to reestablish the nation's pride, the Italian Line commissioned two new vessels of similar design in the early 1950s. The first was to be named Andrea Doria, after a famed 16th-century Genoese admiral Andrea Doria, the second Cristoforo Colombo after explorer Christopher Columbus. These ships were intended to deliver express service on the Italian Line's "Sunny Southern Route" between Genoa and New York, stopping only at Cannes, Naples and Gibraltar. Three slower prewar vessels, Saturnia, Vulcania and Conte Biancamano, among the handful of dowagers to survive the conflict, would follow a meandering route that included additional stops at Azores, Lisbon, Barcelona and Palermo. Construction of Andrea Doria started as Yard No. 918 at Ansaldo Shipyard in Genoa. On 9 February 1950, the ship's keel was laid on the No. 1 slipway, and on 16 June 1951, Andrea Doria was launched. During the ceremony, the ship's hull was blessed by Giuseppe Siri, Cardinal Archbishop of Genoa, and christened by Mrs. Giuseppina Saragat, wife of the former Minister of the Merchant Marine Giuseppe Saragat. Maiden voyage Initially, Andrea Doria had been scheduled to depart Genoa on her maiden voyage on 14 December 1952, but amid reports of machinery problems during sea trials, the departure was delayed to 14 January 1953. Following the Italian Line's advertised route, she collected 794 passengers (152 First Class, 157 Cabin Class, 485 Tourist Class) before headi.... Discover the Andrea Speed popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Andrea Speed books.