From about 1974, it was owned by Norwegian author Axel Jensen and his Indian wife Pratibha who lived on board for many years until 1990.
The ship was built in 1905 at Sjötorps shipyard near lake Vänern in Sweden, and originally named Zeus, but later registered in Gibraltar as SY Shanti Devi under the Jensen's ownership.
[1] It was sold when Jensen became seriously ill (with ALS), and was a few years sailing privately under the Norwegian flag until it mysteriously sank outside Arendal in October 2012.
When, in 1984, Shanti Devi sailed into the Oslofjord, the crew consisted of, in addition to the owners, Captain Sven Kviman, Physician Gun Sandahl, Chief Officer Bengt Persson, Able Seaman Louise Sandahl, carpenter Josef Horvat, Steward's Assistant Poonam Rampal, and Chief Engineer Robert E. Haraldsen (a singer-songwriter nicknamed "Merlin" by Jensen).
Shanti Devi is also the name of an Indian woman who was at the center of a case of alleged reincarnation.