only nine transatlantic crossings. In 1965 SAL had founded Hoverlloyd together with Swedish Lloyd to offer a fast hovercraft connection across the English Channel. Hoverlloyd begun operations in 1966 with two hovercraft, Swift and Sure. Another joint operation was formed in the mid-60s when SAL, Rederiaktiebolaget Transatlantic and Wallenius Rederiet founded Atlantic Container Line as a joint marketing entity for transatlantic freight operations. Some time later the decision was made to establish a new company, Swedish Atlantic Line (AB Svenska Atlant Linjen), for Swedish American Line's freight operations. In the early 70s another joint company, Atlantic Gulf Services, was founded, this time in collaboration with Finnlines. In 1970 SAL's passenger ships made only three transatlantic crossings, and from 1971 onwards the only crossings made were repositioning cruises. In June 1972 the Swedish American Line purchased the expedition cruise ship via their Panama-based subsidiary United Cruising Co. Unlike other SAL passenger vessels, the Lindblad Explorer was registered in Panama, not Sweden. Increased operational costs of Swedish-flagged ships forced the company to start negotiations with Swedish trade unions for re-flagging the Gripsholm and Kungsholm. The negotiations failed however, and 22 March 1975 the company decided to abandon passenger traffic despite protests from the company's United States offices, according to whom the ships would have continued to be highly profitable even under the Swedish flag. The Gripsholm and Kungsholm were taken out-of-service and laid up in August 1975. The Kungsholm was sold to Flagship Cruises in October of the same year for only 65 million Swedish krona, a half of what SAL had paid for her nine years earlier. Flagship maintained her under the name Kungsholm for cruising under Liberian flag. The Gripsholm found a buyer in November when she was sold to Karageorgis Lines, Greece, becoming their MS Navarino. The Lindblad Explorer however stayed under SAL's ownership. At the end of 1975 SAL withdrew from Atlantic Gulf Services. 1975 onwards SAL continued freight operations, maintained their share in Hoverlloyd and ownership of the Lindblad Explorer until the early 1980s. The Lindblad Explorer was sold to Lindblad Swire Cruises in 1980, and soon afterwards SAL withdrew from Hoverlloyd. Apparently the last ship owned by the company was sold in 1986. In 1984 the company was bought by competing ship owner Rederi AB Transatlantic, which in turn was bought by transportation company Bilspedition AB in 1988. The last vestiges of SAL disappeared in 1990,