thumbnail|[[Greta Garbo and Mauritz Stiller on board the in 1925, en route to the United States.]]
Swedish American Line (, abbr. SAL) was a Swedish passenger shipping line. It was founded in December 1914 under the name Rederiaktiebolaget Sverige-Nordamerika and began ocean liner service from Gothenburg to New York in 1915. In 1925 the company changed its name to Svenska Amerika Linien / Swedish American Line. Increased operational costs and stronger competition from passenger aircraft forced the company to abandon passenger traffic in 1975,
History
1915–1924
Rederiaktiebolaget Sverige-Nordamerika (literally, "shipping corporation Sweden-North America") was born from the idea of Wilhelm R. Lundgren, the owner of Rederiaktiebolaget Transatlantic, with the purpose of offering ocean liner service from Sweden to North America. Both Norway and Denmark already operated their own transatlantic liners, and the establishing of a Swedish company for the trade was a matter of national pride. Lundgren died in September 1914, but his successor Gunnar Carlsson managed to attract the attention of Dan Broström of the Broström Concern, and on 4 December 1914 the new Rederiaktiebolaget Sverige-Nordamerika was founded in Gothenburg. Originally the new company had planned to commission two purpose-built 18000-ton ships, but this plan was never realised. Instead, in September 1915 the company acquired the 1900-built Holland America Line vessel SS Potsdam, which was renamed . On 11 December 1915, in the midst of World War I, the Stockholm left on her first crossing from Gothenburg to New York. En route she was stopped by a British naval vessel and forced to make a stop at Kirkwall, where all mail onboard was confiscated. In the end, the Stockholms first transatlantic crossing took no less than 15½ days. Despite the difficulties caused by the war, the Stockholm continued transatlantic services until 1917, when Germany's unrestricted submarine warfare forced her to be laid up in Gothenburg until June 1918, when she resumed service. As a partial replacement, the 1902-built SS Noordam was chartered from Holland America Line as from 27 February 1923 until 18 December 1924. In April 1924 the company acquired , a small coastal steamer that became the first in a series of feeder ships used to transport passengers from ports around the Baltic Sea to Gothenburg.
thumb| of 1928, with her original black hull colour.
1924–1939
In March 1923 RAB Sverige-Nordamerika placed an order for their first newbuilding, the first , with Armstrong Whitworth & Co in Newcastle upon Tyne. Encouraged by the success of the Gripsholm, SAL placed an order for a ship of similar but larger design with the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg on 28 October 1926.
On 17 March 1928 the new was launched at Blohm & Voss. The Kungsholms interiors were designed with off-season cruising in mind, with her passenger capacity shrunk from 1344 on liner service to around 600 for cruising. She was also one of the first liners with interior decorations in art deco style, following the lead of the , built in 1927.
1939–1946
Due to World War II breaking out in Europe, the Kungsholm made her last transatlantic crossing in October 1939, after which she was used for cruising around the West Indies until 1941. Also due to the war the Gripsholm and Drottningholm were taken out of service and are laid up on 24 November 1939 and March 1940, respectively. Had the Stockholm ever entered service for SAL, she would have been the largest ship ever operated by the company.
thumbnail|left|Stigbergskajen quay in Gothenburg where the steamers of the Swedish American Line moored, and the port terminal "The American Shed". Shown in 1944.
In December 1941 the US Government confiscated the Kungsholm while she was in New York. After negotiations with the Swedish American Line, the company agreed to sell the ship to the War Shipping Administration (WSA) for $6 million which renamed the ship John Ericsson for operation under WSA contract by United States Lines with allocation first to the State Department and then in January 1942 to Army troop transportation until 1945 when she was laid up. The Drottningholm meanwhile was chartered by the US government 4 March 1942 for use as a repatriation vessel, to exchange official personnel between the United States and the Axis powers. As Sweden was a neutral country during the war, the Swedish-flagged ship could be used to transport passengers between the warring nations, under the command of Sea Captain John Nordlander. The Drottningsholm made two exchange trips for the US government, after which she was chartered for similar use by the British government. In June 1942 the Gripsholm was also chartered to the US government for the same use as the Drottningholm. For this purpose the Gripsholm was managed by the American Export Lines but kept her original Swedish crew and flag. Unlike the Drottningholm, the Gripsholm was chartered to the US government until 1946. Together the Drottningholm and Gripsholm made a total of 33 repatriation voyages during the war.
In October 1944, before the end of World War II, SAL placed an order with the Götaverken shipyard in Gothenburg for a cargo/passenger liner of . During the same year the Swedish American Line founded Home Lines together with Cosulich Lines and the Greek businessman Eugen Eugenides. When the Stockholm entered service, the Drottningholm was transferred to South Atlantic Lines (a subsidiary of SAL) and renamed SS Brazil for traffic with Home Lines. Following the Kungsholms delivery the Stockholm was rebuilt with larger passenger accommodations. 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. 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. 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 Lindblad Explorer however stayed under SAL's ownership.
As of 2026, the last surviving ships that were part of Swedish American Line are: the tender , serving as restaurant ship in Gothenburg, Sweden; and a tender from the MS Kungsholm', used as the excursion boat Cygnet on Coniston Water, England.
Ships
Lists sourced from. || Used on tender service connection from the Baltic Sea ports to Gothenburg. Last surviving ship of the Swedish American Line.
|-
| || || 1938 ||align="Center" | never entered service || align="Right" |
|Cantieri Riuniti dell' Adriatico, Monfalcone, Italy|| Destroyed in a fire before delivery in 1938. || Destroyed in a fire before delivery in 1938.
|-
| || || 1941 ||align="Center" | never entered service || align="Right" |
|Cantieri Riuniti dell' Adriatico, Monfalcone, Italy|| Bombed and partially sank in 1944, Scrapped || Never sailed for SAL, sold to the Italian government after completed.
|-
| ||200px|| 1948 ||align="Center" | 1948–1959 || align="Right" |
|Götaverken, Gothenburg, Sweden|| Undergoing scrapping at Ghent || Collided with in 1956. Had multiple name changes and ended with the name Astoria. Arrived at Ghent for scrapping in 2025.
|-
| ||200px|| 1952 ||align="Center" | 1953–1965 || align="Right" |
|De Schelde, Vlissingen, Netherlands|| Sunk at pier, scrapped 1984 ||
|-
| ||200px|| 1957 ||align="Center" | 1957–1975 || align="Right" |
|Ansaldo Shipyard, Italy|| Sunk in 2001 on way to scrapyard. ||
|-
| || 200px || 1965 ||align="Center" | 1966–1975 || align="Right" |
|John Brown & Company, Clydebank, Scotland || Scrapped 2016. ||
|-
| || 200px || 1969 ||align="Center" | 1972–1980 || align="Right" |
|Uudenkaupungin Telakka, Uusikaupunki, Finland|| Sunk 2007. ||
|-
|}
Cargo ships
{| class="wikitable"
! Ship || Built || In service for SAL || Type || Tonnage || Notes
|-
| || 1939 ||align="Center" | 1946–1963 || freighter ||align="Right" | || Transferred from Swedish American Mexico Line. Scrapped 1972
|-
| || 1946 ||align="Center" | 1946–1963 || Kramfors||align="Right" | || Scrapped 1978
|-
| || 1943 ||align="Center" | 1946–1967 || Kramfors||align="Right" | || Sunk 1971
|-
| || 1938 ||align="Center" | 1946–1963 || Kramfors||align="Right" | || Transferred from Swedish American Mexico Line. Scrapped 1972
|-
| || 1945 ||align="Center" | 1946–1963 || Kramfors||align="Right" | || Transferred from Swedish American Mexico Line. Sunk 1977
|-
| || 1945 ||align="Center" | 1946 || Kramfors||align="Right" | || Sold to Rederiaktiebolaget Jake, Kramfors 1946. Still operating
|-
| || 1946 ||align="Center" | 1946–1962 || tanker||align="Right" | || Transferred from Swedish American Mexico Line. Scrapped 1965
|-
| || 1947 ||align="Center" | 1947–1958 || tanker ||align="Right" | || Scrapped 1974
|-
| || 1951 ||align="Center" | 1951–1969 || Cargo ship||align="Right" | || Sunk 1981
|-
| || 1951 ||align="Center" | 1951–???? || Cargo ship||align="Right" | ||
|-
| || 1955 ||align="Center" | 1955–1971 || Cargo ship||align="Right" | || Sunk 1979
|-
| || 1963 ||align="Center" | 1963–1966 || Cargo ship ||align="Right" | || Scrapped 1985
|-
| || 1963 ||align="Center" | 1963–1972 || Cargo ship||align="Right" | ||
|-
| || 1967 ||align="Center" | 1967–1986 || Cargo ship||align="Right" | || Scrapped 1987
|-
| || 1972 ||align="Center" | 1972–1985 || Cargo ship||align="Right" | || Scrapped 2004
|}
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
External links
- A Tribute to the Swedish American Line
- Svenska Amerika Linien
- Swedish American Line History and Ephemera GG Archives