Chapter 4

1914 - 1918

The First World War

After the outbreak of war in 1914, the five Atlantic liners, ROTTERDAM, NIEUW AMSTERDAM, POTSDAM, NOORDAM and RYNDAM continued to maintain the New York service and, being the principal link between neutral Europe and America, passages on these ships were in enormous demand. In November 1914 the Noordam was mined in the North Sea but, although severely damaged, reached port, where she was under repair for some months. As the war progressed the demand for passages fell off and emigration ceased, so in 1915 the POTSDAM was sold at a high price to the Swedish-America Line, becoming their STOCKHOLM. In the spring of 1916 the RYNDAM was mined off the English coast but was eventually able to reach Rotterdam. At this time the TURBANTIA, a 14,000 ton passenger liner of another Dutch line, the Royal Holland Lloyd, was torpedoed and sunk by a U-boat, thus demonstrating the risks run even by neutrals. As a result the ROTTERDAM was taken out of service and laid up. The NOORDAM was again mined and put out of action in August 1917, whilst the RYNDAM was chartered by the Americans as a troopship, leaving only the NIEUW AMSTERDAM valiantly maintaining the run to New York. American passengers in the early days of the war were so grateful for the service provided under very difficult conditions that they presented a memorial tablet to Captain Baron of the NIEUW AMSTERDAM which was mounted in the ship.

In spite of war time risks, restrictions and losses, the earnings of these ships, together with those of the freighters, had been very high. Consequently, in 1915, the Company was able to buy back the shares held by the German lines, and in 1917, the IMM holding, thus becoming free of further risk of foreign influence.

The story would be incomplete without further description of the 32,000 ton STATENDAM, ordered in 1911, although she was never in the Company's service. Launched on the 9th of July, 1914, she was taken over, after delayed completion, by the British Government and left the builders in April 1917 as the JUSTICIA. Interesting features of this ship were the glassed-in promenade deck and the triple-screw machinery layout, a Harland & Wolff specialty at that time. The outer shafts were driven by four-cylinder triple-expansion engines which exhausted into a low pressure turbine on the center shaft. Since she was to be a troopship on war service her third-class accomodation was fitted out to carry 286 N.C.O.s and 4,031 men. On the 19th of July, 1918 she was hit by a torpedo from U64 off North Ireland and taken in tow by escorting ships. During the next 20 hours she was hit by four more torpedoes, the last from U54, and finally sank, fortunately with the loss of only seven lives. There is a very fine model of the ship, as she would have appeared in Holland-America colors, in the Prins Hendrik Maritime Museum in Rotterdam.

As regard freight services in this period, these too were as far as possible maintained, but as the war went on, conditions became increasingly difficult. In March 1915 some ships were diverted to the East to maintain a direct Java-New York service via Suez. Prior to this, cargoes from the East Indies to America had been transhipped in Holland. Seven freighters were bought in 1915 and renamed WAALDYK, POELDYK, MAASDYK, EEMDYK (I), MOERDYK (I), KINDERDYK (I), and EEMDYK (II), the last three from Germany. The EEMDYK I was mined shortly after being purchased; hence the repetition of the name. In 1916 two turret ships were acquired from Wm. H. Muller & Co. and renamed BLOMMERSDYK and BEUKELSDYK, the former having five twin masts and the latter, with seven twin masts, presenting the most unusual appearance of any vessel in the fleet.

Owing to increasing danger the Channel route was abandoned in May 1916, ships then passing to the north of the British Isles, with Kirkwall as the examination point. With the onslaught of unrestricted U-boat warfare in the spring of 1917, most of the fleet was laid up. A year later conditions had improved but the US Government requisitioned nine ships lying in American ports. These nine were the RYNDAM, OOSTERDYK, SOESDYK, GORREDYK, BEUKELSDYK, MAARTENSDYK, VEENDYK, WESTERDYK, and ZUIDERDYK.

Shortly after this the OOSTERDYK was sunk in a collision in the Atlantic. Other war losses were the first EEMDYK, mined in the North Sea in September 1915, and the BLOOMERSDYK, also very recently purchased, sunk by a U-boat three miles off Nantucket in October 1916. In the latter case the Germans paid full compensation. In February 1917 the ZAANDYK and NOORDERDYK were sunk off Scilly Isles by a U-boat, in spite of being given safe permit by the Germans. As compensation the German ships SILESIA (4,512 tons) and GERNIS (8,383 tons), laid up at Tandjong Priok, Java, were later handed over. Justifiably they were renamed ZAANDYK and NOORDERDYK.

Next Chapter:

1919 - 1939

Between the Wars

(The above text is from H. M. Le Fleming's Ships of the Holland-America Line, John Marshbank Ltd. Publishers, 1963, 1965.)

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