A four full deck, steel passenger ship that could rig one triangular boom sail. Construction began in November of 1899 with the laying of the keel. The ship was launched in May 1901, delivered on October 3 of that year and sailed on her maiden voyage, Rotterdam to New York, on October 10 (1901). Eight lifeboats were added aft, including a boat deck to store them, as a result of the Titanic disaster.
The ship had an eventful career. In September 1915 two crew members died from suffocation in Hatch #2 because of 925 boxes of flower bulbs which were eminating carbon dioxide and seriously reducing the amount of available oxygen.
In January 1916 the ship hit a mine laid by a German submarine. The explosion killed three crew. Emergency repairs were made in England and final repairs made at the Wilton yard in Rotterdam. (Photos of the mine damage taken by the Wilton yard can be viewed on the attached page.)
In the autumn of 1916 the ship was towed into New York due to heavy damage from a collision that occurred off the American coast. Three days after the United States entered World War I, the ship was seized on June 20, 1917 by the U.S Government and allocated by the U.S. Navy. She was converted to a troopship and renamed the USS Rijndam in March 1918. During the short time she was a troop carrier, the ship transported 17,319 persons. Rijndam was released from service and returned to the Holland America Line in October 1919.
After a refit she returned to her prewar route with her first voyage from Rotterdam June 31, 1920. In May 1925 the accommodations were changed from the layout listed in the below chart to become Cabin and Tourist classes only. In 1926 this again changed to Cabin, Tourist and Third classes.
On September 18, 1926 the ship began a seven month world cruise as a floating university in charter for the University of New York, carrying 506 students. (More on the University World Cruise on the attached page.) "University World Cruise" was painted on both sides of the hull.
The ship was sold as scrap in December 1928, arriving in Hendrik Ido Ambacht, Netherlands in April 1929. Demolition being done by N.V. Frans Rijsdijk's Industriele Ondernemingen.
| SHIP DATA |
| Previous Name(s): None |
| Tonn. Brt: 12,527 |
Nrt: 7,976 |
Dwt: 12,339 |
| Built at: Harland & Wolff, Belfast, Ireland |
| Built: 1901 |
|
Yard No.: 336 |
| Engines: Two triple expansion steam engine by yard |
| Engine output: 7,500 Bhp. |
|
Props: Two (fixed) |
| Service Speed: 15 knots |
| Length o.a.: 175.30 meters |
|
Length Bpp: 167.64 meters |
| Beam o.a.: 18.90 meters |
|
Depth: 13.77 meters |
| Draft: NA |
| Pax. Cap.: 286 First, 196 Second, 1,800 Third Class |
| Crew: 266 |
| Sister ships: Noordam, Potsdam (near sister) |
| Remarks: Bunker capacity 1,780 tons of coal at 149 tons a day |
