Båten

25 July 1961 S/S Malmö makes its last trip to Copenhagen. The steamboat was built in 1914 for transporting passengers across the Öresund. 47 years later it has had its day.. After leaving the last load of passengers in Copenhagen, the steamboat returns empty to Malmö. For the last time it passes the well-known views along the quays of Copenhagen, accompanied by the shrill cries of the gulls. Emptiness is the prevailing atmosphere inside the boat, in the saloons, in the kitchen, in the passageways. The only sounds are the fateful poundings, when a pendulous anchor hits the hull. When the steamboat reaches Malmö, a tugboat pulls it to a scrap dock. There the destruction of the boat immediately begins. Silent workers dismantle it methodically, piece by piece. The sounds from sledgehammers and blowtorches are only interrupted by the cries of the gulls. A big crane, with four sprawling legs, comes rolling along its rails, like a huge spider. With the help of the crane large pieces of the boat are transferred to the quay, until only the bottom hull remains, which is hauled ashore.