Diana

M/S Diana: a canal ship with a story

The Swedish M/S Diana sails the Göta Canal and carries IMO number 8634120. She was built in 1931 at the Finnboda shipyard near Stockholm; the shipyard handed the vessel over to Rederi AB Göta Kanal on 15 March that year. Diana was built as a combined passenger and cargo ship and specially designed for the canal’s locks. When planning the vessel, the shipping company expected more visitors from Sweden and the United States. In 2009, the ship was granted protected status by the Swedish Maritime Museums in recognition of its cultural and historical significance.

The Göta Canal is Diana’s operating area. It stretches for 190 kilometres and has 58 locks. Construction began in 1810; 58,000 soldiers worked on the canal, which opened in 1832.

The Göta Canal shipping company was founded in 1869 as Ångfartygsaktiebolaget Motala Ström. In the 1880s, it operated eleven ships, including several combined cargo and passenger vessels. After the First World War, tourism and shipping picked up again in the 1920s. In the early 1930s, the company ordered Diana, when prospects initially looked good. However, the 1929 stock market crash and the ensuing Great Depression dampened expectations for international visitor numbers to Sweden.

The operator lists 25 cabins across three decks. The bridge deck has nine Category A cabins with direct access to the sun deck. The middle shelter deck has six cabins beside the dining room and lounge, and also serves as the main boarding level. The lower main deck has ten cabins, including two honeymoon cabins with 140-centimetre beds and one triple cabin. The cabins on the bridge and shelter decks have bunk beds; on the main deck, the single beds are usually placed side by side.

No cabin has a private bathroom. Each has a washbasin with hot and cold water; toilets and showers are in shared facilities. There are two combined toilet and shower rooms on the bridge deck, and one shared toilet on the shelter deck. The main deck has four shared toilets, two of which are equipped with showers. The operator describes the cabins as compact and compares their size to a traditional sleeping compartment on a train.