Captain Kjell Smitterberg,
commander on the Gripsholm and Kungsholm 1972-1975,
and on the Lindblad Explorer 1976-1977 (among other ships).

The family name Smitterberg has long been associated with ships and seafarers. One Smitterberg relative was captain aboard the S/S Klintehamn, here caught in pack ice in the Baltic Sea 1891. Photo: N.J. August Lagergren.

As a teenager Kjell took a job 1952 as deckhand on the passenger ferry M/S Gotland. Postcard.

At the age of 17, Kjell sailed with the navy schooner HMS Gladan across the Atlantic Ocean to the exotic islands of the West Indies, getting some tough lessons in traditional seamanship on the way. Picture from Kjell Smitterberg.

Hamnén and Smitterberg at the navy barracks, playing tick-tack-toe in leisure time while doing their mandatory military service.

Kjell posing for a photograph in 1959 in Royal Navy leave uniform. Prior to this Kjell had completed his shipmaster’s studies around Christmas 1958.

Kjell inspects the seaview from the portside bridge wing on the Gripsholm. Photo: Karl Glimnell.

Captain’s Christmas luncheon with his officers on the Gripsholm in 1970. Chief Officer Kjell Smitterberg is sitting opposite to the singing Captain Lars-Erik Granqvist at the table. Source: Carl-Gustaf Kruse on SALship.se. Find all the names here.

As chief officer on the Kungsholm, in November 1971 Kjell steps down to the foredeck to take a closer look at the ongoing Neptune equator ceremony by the crew’s swimmingpool. Photo: Hasse Gustafsson.

From 1972 Kjell was promoted to captain. He served as commander on the Gripsholm and the Kungsholm interchangeably throughout the remaining years of the SAL epoch.

On the 6:th of December 1972, somewhere off the coast of Brazil, near Belem, Commander Kjell Smitterberg solemnly recites the Declaration of the Seas in conjunction with the MS Kungsholm’s re-crossing of the Equator.

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	Drottningholm	Gripsholm Gripsholm of 1925	Kungsholm Kungsholm of 1953 Kungsholm of 1928	Stockholm Stockholm of 1915 Stockholm of 1938 and 1940
Lindblad Explorer
Drottningholm and Gripsholm Exchange Ships During WWII Film Clips

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News Oct 15

Kjell Smitterberg Commander

Claes Feder Architect & Ship Designer

C-O Claesson On the Bridge 1923-55

Maurits and Anna-Greta Lindblad Ship's Doctor and Nurse

Jan-Erik Johansson 2nd Officer

Karl Glimnell 3rd Officer

Nils Haggård Gripsholm and Kungsholm Third Officer Inter

Lars Helmer Second Engineer

Göran Forsén 3rd Engineer

Magnus Baecklund 3rd Engineer

S-O Svensson 3rd Engineer

Leif Vickberg Officer's Apprentice

Roy Johansson Quartermaster

Benny Doverhagen Seaman

About SAL & SAL Timeline

About Us Life as a Crew Member

Torsten Torstensson's webpage about the Swedish American Line

Exchange and Repatriation Voyages During WWII

Rune Dahlstrand Gripsholm Barber During WWII

Torkel Tistrand Sea Personnel Manager

Sune Edensvärd Chief Radio Officer

Bridge & Crew Page

Reunions

Curt Dawe Chief Purser

Carl-Gustav Kruse Chief Purser

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Poul V Lange Chief Purser

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Jörgen Areskough Second Purser

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T Odenlund Cashier

L-E Jansson Information Officer

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Anthony Bloomfield Photographer

The Entertainers

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Stig Lundgren Chief Steward

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Ingwar Gemzell & Rolf Mayer

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Franz Havranek Wine Steward

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Björn Wallde Crew member

Claes Lindstrom Crew membe

B-G Nilson and the SAL Freighters

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The Passenger Area

The Hemingstam Family, Gripsholm and Kungsholm

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The McDonough Family, Kungsholm

The Neilson Family, Gripsholm and Kungsholm

The Sandholm Family, Gripsholm

The Storck-Petersen Family, Gripsholm and Kungsholm

Clive Harvey, Passenger in the Post-SAL Era

Passenger Database

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More than 250 web pages developed and maintained by Lars Hemingstam ©1998-2023
Hasse Gustafsson and Tommy Stark have interviewed crew members and contributed many of the stories.

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