Stella Polaris no more

A liner once used by millionaire travelers sank early Saturday in the Pacific Ocean off Wakayama Prefecture in Japan while it was being towed to Chin. The 5,100 gt Scandinavia, formerly named the Stella Polaris, was built in 1927 and was sailing as a luxury cruise ship until 1969, was going to be repaired in Shanghai before being turned into a hotel in Sweden, its country of origin.

Izuhakone Railway Co., a Seibu group company, bought the 127-meter vessel in 1970 and anchored it in Suruga Bay in Numazu, Shizuoka Prefecture, where it served as a Scandinavian-style hotel and restaurant. From 1999 it operated only as a restaurant.

The company closed the facility in March 2005 due to declining business and sold the ship to a Swedish company. The ship was towed out of Numazu last Thursday for the 10-day journey to Shanghai when the ship began to take on water and started to list.

The ship was brought to a port in Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture, but after it began to list further the tug towed it out to sea and, around 2 a.m. Saturday, it sank some 3 km off Kushimoto. Nobody was aboard the ship.

“We are surprised at the news as it has only left the port a few days ago,” said an employee of Izuhakone Railway’s general affairs department. “We’ve taken care of the ship for more than 30 years. We feel very sad.” The Swedish company, Petro-Fast AB, planned to operate the ship as a hotel-restaurant in Stockholm, according to Izuhakone Railway.