Marjaana

According to sources, Tor, his wife Marja and their son Tor-Björn lived on board. Marjaana operated mainly between the Underås Sandtag quarry and Stockholm.

On Maundy Thursday 1969, Marjaana was loaded with nearly a full load of sand at Underås for transport to Stockholm. Even though April had arrived and the sun was shining, the ice was quite thick on Björkfjärden, but a lead in the ice made the journey possible. Among those on board were Marja, who was steering, 16-year-old Tor-Björn, who slept in the captain’s cabin, and a hired machinist.

After a brief journey, the vessel attempted to quickly manoeuvre around an ice floe but instead crashed into the edge of the ice channel. The collision made a hole in the ship’s concrete hull, and the water quickly flowed in. The pumps were started up, but the three travellers realised that Marjaana would soon sink.

The machinist clambered out of the engine room, scrambled down onto the ice and began to head towards land. Marja and Tor-Björn also left the ship and jumped down onto a larger ice floe.

Soon after, Marjaana sank, bow first. Mother and son were rescued from the ice floe by a helicopter and taken by ambulance to Karolinska Hospital.

A few months later, attempts were made to salvage the ship. But for various reasons, the ship still lies about 15 metres deep just south of Bergholmarna islands in Södra Björköfjärden. The Swedish Maritime Administration blasted away the mast since it considered it to pose a danger to maritime traffic.