page_title: Swedish American Line
section_title: 1963–1975
hierarchical_section_title: Swedish American Line / History / 1963–1975
caption_attribution_description: English: Lars Ridderstedt II birthday group (he is with Mr. &amp; Mrs. Lyman Darling &amp;)Place: First class, MS Gripsholm on the Atlantic Ocean
context_page_description: Swedish American Line is a Swedish passenger shipping line. It was founded in December 1914 under the name Rederiaktiebolaget Sverige-Nordamerika, beginning ocean liner service from Gothenburg to New York in 1915. In 1925 the company changed its name to Svenska Amerika Linien / Swedish American Line.
  The Swedish American Line was amongst the first companies to build liners with provisions for off-season cruising, as well as the world's first company to build a diesel-engined transatlantic liner. Increased operational costs and stronger competition from aeroplanes forced the company to abandon passenger traffic in 1975, but cargo operations continued until the 1980s.
context_section_description: On 23 August 1963 the Swedish American Line ordered another new ship, this time from John Brown and Company, Clydebank. The new ship, named MS Kungsholm (the fourth SAL ship with that name), was launched on 14 April 1964. Her design featured several cruise-friendly innovations, including all-outside cabins and large lido decks. In preparation for the delivery of the new Kungsholm, the old (third) Kungsholm was sold to North German Lloyd on 5 October 1965, becoming their third MS Europa. The SAL operated with just one passenger-carrying ship until 24 April 1966, when the fourth (and final) Kungsholm was delivered. She began service with a transatlantic crossing from Gothenburg to New York, after which she was used for cruising around the world. In 1966 SAL's ships made only nine transatlantic crossings. In 1965 SAL had founded Hoverlloyd together with Swedish Lloyd to offer a fast hovercraft connection across the English Channel. Hoverlloyd begun operations in 1966 with two hovercraft, Swift and Sure. Another joint operation was formed in the mid-60s when SAL, Rederiaktiebolaget Transatlantic and Wallenius Rederiet founded Atlantic Container Line as a joint marketing entity for transatlantic freight operations. Some time later the decision was made to establish a new company, Swedish Atlantic Line (AB Svenska Atlant Linjen), for Swedish American Line's freight operations. In the early 70s another joint company, Atlantic Gulf Services, was founded, this time in collaboration with Finnlines.
  In 1970 SAL's passenger ships made only three transatlantic crossings, and from 1971 onwards the only crossings made were repositioning cruises. In June 1972 the Swedish American Line purchased the expedition cruise ship MS Lindblad Explorer via their Panama-based subsidiary United Cruising Co. Unlike other SAL passenger vessels, the Lindblad Explorer was registered in Panama, not Sweden. Increased operational costs of Swedish-flagged ships forced the company to start negotiations with Swedish trade unions for re-flagging the Gripsholm and Kungsholm. The negotiations failed however, and 22 March 1975 the company decided to abandon passenger traffic despite protests from the company's United States offices, according to whom the ships would have continued to be highly profitable even under the Swedish flag. The Gripsholm and Kungsholm were taken out-of-service and laid up in August 1975. The Kungsholm was sold to Flagship Cruises in October of the same year for only 65 million Swedish krona, a half of what SAL had paid for her nine years earlier. Flagship maintained her under the name Kungsholm for cruising under Liberian flag. The Gripsholm found a buyer in November when she was sold to Karageorgis Lines, Greece, becoming their MS Navarino. The Lindblad Explorer however stayed under SAL's ownership. At the end of 1975 SAL withdrew from Atlantic Gulf Services.
caption: Birgit Ridderstedt (right) and son Lars after his 18th birthday dinner in First Class on the Gripsholm in 1966
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