MONA LISA

Three views of the MONA LISA on her final call to Lisbon this June

There are ships like this MONA LISA that are so special in our lives, that we tend to think of them as close friends. Now laid up in Piraeus following the bankrupcy of her German charterer, this ship was first photographed by me still in her original form as the elegant twin funneled KUNGSHOLM of 1966, then on her final visit to Lisbon in May 1975 under the Swedish flag. Later I was able to photograph and visit her many times, still as the Flagship Cruises KUNGSHOLM and after 1979 as the SEA PRINCESS. More recently, as the Greek owned MONA LISA she was no longer in her prime, still retaining her handsome looks and classic lines. Let's hope she still has a few years left, as a trip from Piraeus to Alang should be postponed forever on what concerns this ship. She should be returned to Sweden and preserved in Goteborg as a tribute to the finest traditions of Swedish passenger shipping...

Report and copyright photos by Luís Miguel Correia - 2006

Há navios com os quais nos cruzamos tantas vezes, que acabam por ser como amigos. É o caso deste MONA LISA, que está actualmente imobilizado no Pireu na sequência da falência do afretador alemão em Setembro. Fiz-lhe as primeiras fotografias em Maio de 1975, a preto e branco, quando esteve pela última vez em Lisboa com as cores da Swedish American Line, para quem foi construído em 1966 no Clyde com o nome KUNGSHOLM, e desde então fotografei-o ou subi a bordo inúmeras vezes, ainda como KUNGSHOLM mas propriedade da Flagship Cruises, de 1975 a 1978, como SEA PRINCESS a partir de 1979 e mais recentemente como MONA LISA. Esperemos que a carreira do antigo derradeiro grande transatlântico sueco não se fique pelos 40 anos já navegados...

Texto e fotos de Luís Miguel Correia - 2006