SS Nieuw Amsterdam (1905)

Nieuw Amsterdam departing port
History
Netherlands
NameNieuw Amsterdam
NamesakeNew Amsterdam
OwnerNASM
OperatorHolland America Line
Port of registryRotterdam
RouteRotterdam – Hoboken
BuilderHarland & Wolff, Belfast
Yard number366
Laid down21 January 1904
Launched28 September 1905
Completed6 March 1906
Maiden voyage7 April 1906
Refit1925, 1930
Identification
FateScrapped 1932
General characteristics
TypeOcean liner
Tonnage16,967 GRT, 10,174 NRT, 17,363 DWT
Length
  • 615 ft (187 m) overall
  • 600.3 ft (183.0 m) registered
Beam68.9 ft (21.0 m)
Draught34 ft 1+12 in (10.40 m)
Depth35.6 ft (10.9 m)
Decks3
Installed power1,767 NHP, 11,000 ihp
Propulsion
Speed16 knots (30 km/h)
Capacity
  • passengers:
  • 1906: 440 1st class, 246 2nd class, 2,200 steerage
  • 1925: cabin class & tourist class only
  • 1930: 442 1st class, 202 2nd class, 636 3rd class and 1,284 4th class
  • cargo: 631,000 cubic feet (17,868 m3) grain, 578,000 cubic feet (16,367 m3) bale
Sensors &
processing systems

SS Nieuw Amsterdam was a steam ocean liner that was launched in Ireland in 1905, completed in 1906 and scrapped in Japan in 1932. Holland America Line (Nederlandsch-Amerikaansche Stoomvaart Maatschappij or NASM) owned and operated her throughout her career.

She was the first of four NASM ships to have been named after the former Dutch colony of New Amsterdam. She was the largest and swiftest ship in the company's fleet until Rotterdam entered service in 1908.

The ship's usual route was between Rotterdam and Hoboken. She remained in service through most of the First World War, despite numerous disruptions by the Allied and German navies. In 1918 she repatriated Dutch seafarers whose ships had been seized by the US government, and in 1919 she repatriated members of the American Expeditionary Forces from France. In 1922 a cargo fire damaged the ship, and she was under repair for the next six months.

In July 1931 the North Atlantic Shipping Conference responded to a slump in trade by agreeing to reduce the number of passenger liners running between Europe and North America. Nieuw Amsterdam was one of a number of older ships that were identified as surplus. In January 1932 she was sold to be broken up.