Stella Polaris has sunk


NHK reports that the MS Stella Polaris has sunk in the Pacific off Wakayama Prefecture, western Japan, while being towed to China for repairs.

I wrote about the beautiful ship here. It sailed as a liner for millionaire travelers until the 1960s. It was sold to a Japanese company in 1970 for use as a hotel and restaurant in Suruga Bay in Shizuoka Prefecture, near Mt Fuji.

The vessel, also known as Scandinavia, was once again sold to a Swedish company and it was scheduled to go to Stockholm after undergoing repairs in Shanghai.

The cause of the sinking is not yet known, and nobody was injured, according to NHK. The Coast Guard reports that the vessel sank early on Sunday morning and that a small amount of fuel is leaking but not enough to affect sea transport in the area.

What a sad end. The owners really had no respect for the ship at all, and for all the memories connected to her. What a total waste of a beautiful ship.

Update: The Japan Times says its new owner, the Swedish company Petro-Fast AB, planned to operate the ship as a hotel-restaurant in Stockholm, according to Izuhakone Railway. An employee of Izuhakone Railway's general affairs department is also quoted as saying, "We are surprised at the news as it has only left the port a few days ago. We've taken care of the ship for more than 30 years. We feel very sad."

Comments

Pandabonium said…
What an elegant ship with such an interesting history. How sad. It seems a common fate for old liners. Those ships are a nostalgic, even romantic, sight.

I will never forget when my father took me for a ride in his airplane in 1967 to circle the Queen Mary as she sailed into Long Beach Harbor where she became a hotel. She was escorted by hundreds of small ships and boats - quite a sight. I later stayed at the hotel for a couple of nights. Her sister ship, the Queen Elizabeth, as you probably know, caught fire and capsized in Hong Kong Harbor.

Two other historic ships went to Hawaii to be operated as inter-island cruise ships - the Constitution and the Independence, each built in 1951. The Consitution carried Grace Kelly when she sailed to Monaco to marry Prince Rainer, and was used in the famous movie "An Affair to Remember" with Cary Grant. The Consitution was to be scrapped in 1997, but sank while under tow to Japan. The Independence is laid up and will probably be sent to China to be broken up.

Anyway, thanks for sharing this story. Sorry I never got to see her in person.
4:42 pm, September 03, 2006
Martin J Frid said…
Thanks for the comment. Tere is a beautiful ship in the Yokohama harbour that you might like, built in the 1920s, called Hikawa Maru. Very stylish. The resturant is not great, but you get to sit on the deck and enjoy the ocean view. If you go to Yamashita Park you can't miss it!
11:56 am, September 04, 2006
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