World’s Oldest Cruise Ship Sold for Recycling After Decades at Sea

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The curtain has finally fallen on one of the most remarkable vessels in cruise history.

Belgian recycling company Galloo has purchased the 76-year-old Astoria – the world’s oldest surviving cruise ship – for recycling, after placing the sole bid at a public auction held in Rotterdam on 17th June 2025.

Astoria Cruise Ship
Photo: Niels Johannes / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY-SA 4.0

Galloo submitted a winning bid of €200,000 ($230,175) for the 16,144-gross-ton ship, which has been laid up in the Dutch port since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

“We intend to recycle the vessel at our specialist facility in Ghent,” a Galloo spokesperson confirmed to local media.

A Ship Steeped in History

Built in 1948 as the Stockholm for the Swedish America Line, the ship’s legacy includes one of the most infamous maritime disasters of the 20th century.

On 25th July 1956, the Stockholm collided with the Italian liner Andrea Doria off the coast of Nantucket.

The Andrea Doria sank, but the Stockholm, despite severe damage to her ice-strengthened bow, was able to limp into New York with many of the Italian ship’s survivors aboard.

Over the decades, the vessel was rebuilt, renamed, and repurposed under various owners:

  • As Volkerfreundschaft, a trade union holiday ship in East Germany
  • As Italia Prima, a luxury cruise ship under Italian ownership
  • Later renamed Astoria, she operated cruises for UK-based Cruises & Maritime Voyages (CMV)

The ship was in operation until early 2020, when CMV ceased operations due to the global shutdown.

She was then sold to a group of US investors with the aim of preserving her as a historic attraction – a plan that ultimately failed to materialise.

Final Voyage: To the Scrapyard

Despite speculation in recent years that the Astoria might find new life as a museum ship or floating hotel, Galloo’s purchase confirms that she will now be dismantled and recycled.

The ship is expected to be towed to Ghent, Belgium, where the recycling process will begin at one of Europe’s most environmentally regulated ship-breaking facilities.

Galloo’s offer was the only bid received at the Rotterdam auction, highlighting the difficulty in finding a viable future for such an old vessel – especially one requiring substantial upkeep and retrofitting to meet modern safety standards.

While her active cruising days were over, maritime historians had hoped that Astoria might be preserved due to her historic value.

But the realities of maintenance, regulatory compliance, and the lack of commercial interest ultimately sealed her fate.

Although her hull will be broken down for scrap, Astoria’s story is far from forgotten. As the last surviving ship involved in the Andrea Doria disaster, and a rare example of post-war shipbuilding that remained in active service into the 21st century, she holds a unique place in maritime history.

The ship’s life spanned over seven decades, countless refits, and more than half a dozen names – a testament to resilience in an industry known for rapid evolution.

She may soon vanish from the water, but Astoria’s legacy will remain afloat in the pages of history.

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