Shipment with stamp from collision of M/S Andrea Doria - M/S Stockholm 1956

On 25 July 1956, while Andrea Doria was approaching the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, United States, bound for New York City, the eastbound Stockholm of the Swedish American Line collided with her. Struck in the side, the top-heavy Andrea Doria immediately started to list severely to starboard, 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 died as a direct consequence of the collision. The evacuated luxury liner capsized and sank the following morning.