M/S Svea Corona

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M/S 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 M/S Sundancer and M/S Pegasus. She was scrapped in 1995 in Aliaga, Turkey.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] 1975-1984

M/S 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, M/S Aallotar and M/S 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 larger construction: the Svea Corona and her sisters M/S Wellamo and M/S 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 May 24 the Svea Corona started service for Silja Line. 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 - 1976 and 1976 - 1977 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 April 14 1977 there was a bomb threat onboard, 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. On November 24 1981 Svea Corona's owners Rederi AB Svea were sold to Johnson Line. As a result the ship lost her original white/black funnel colours and gained Johnson Line's blue/yellow colours.

[edit] 1984-1995

In February 1984 Svea Corona ceased service with Silja Line, and was sold to Sundance Cruises, a company owned by Effoa, Johnson Line and McDonald Enterprises. She was rebuilt at Oskarshamn, Sweden as the cruise ship M/S Sundancer for cruising on the west coast of North America. However, on what was just her third cruise as the Sundancer, the ship touched bottom on the night between June 30 and July 1 near Vancouver and her hull was ruptured. Seventy passengers were injured in the incident. The ship was driven to the port of Campbel River where the passengers were evacuated. The ship's engine room was entirely flooded and when inspected afterwards she was declared a total constructive loss, and her ownership passed to the company that had insured her.

In August 1984 the Sundancer was towed into Vancouver, where she lay awaiting potential buyers. On December 1 of the same year she was sold to the Greek Epirotiki Lines. The ship was towed to Pireus, Greece, where she was restored during the year 1985 as the cruiseship M/S Pegasus. During early 1986 she was chartered to an unknown company 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. She partially sunk 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 with intention to rebuild her as a car-passenger ferry for their Swansea Cork Ferries service under the name Ionian Express. Unfortunately a fire broke out in her engine room while the rebuinding at Perama, Greece, and for a third time the ship was declared a total constructive loss. No further buyers were found who iwhed to try to restore the ill-fated ship, and she was towed to the scrapyard in Aliaga, Turkey, in March 1995 and was subsequently broken up.

[edit] Specifications

  • Built: 1975, Dubegion-Normandie S.A., Nantes, France
  • Length: 153 meters
  • Width: 22,04 meters
  • Depth: 5,84 meters
  • Tonnage: 13257 BRT
  • Passengers: 1200
  • Beds: 674
  • Car capacity: 240
  • Max speed: 21 knots
  • Sister ships: M/S Jupiter, M/S Wasa Queen

[edit] External Links

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