The ship was built by the Ansaldo Shipyards in Genoa, Italy. It was launched on June 16, 1951. Its maiden voyage, or first voyage, was on January 14, 1953. Three years later in 1956, it crashed with another ship, MS "Stockholm", in the Atlantic Ocean. At that time, 1,134 passengers and 572 crew were on board. "Andrea Doria" sank in 11 hours, but "Stockholm" survived.