SS ''Rotterdam'' was a 19th-century ocean-going steamer. She was built in 1878 by the shipbuilding firm, Harland and Wolff, and had a gross tonnage of 3,361 tons. Originally named ''British Empire'', she was owned by the British Ship Owners Co. and operated by the

American Line The American Line was a shipping company founded in 1871 and based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It began as part of the Pennsylvania Railroad, although the railroad got out of the shipping business soon after founding the company. In 1902, it ...

. Her maiden voyage began on September 25, 1878, going from

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

, England, to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Pennsylvania in 13 days, arriving on October 7, 1878. The Liverpool-Philadelphia line was her main route until being sold in 1886 to the Nederlandsche-Amerikaansche Stoomvaart Maatschappij (Dutch-American Steamship Company), more commonly known as the

Holland America Line Holland America Line is an American-owned cruise line, a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. Holland America Line was founded in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and from 1873 to 1989, it operated ...

. She was then renamed ''Rotterdam'', being the second HAL ship to bear that name. Her route was also changed to

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, later being modified in 1890 to

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. In 1895, her name was once again changed to SS ''Edam'', of which she was the third HAL ship. She continued ferrying passengers and cargo across the Atlantic Ocean until 1899 after which she was scrapped in Italy.

List of Captains

# Squire Thornton Stratford Lecky

References

Ships built in Belfast 1878 ships Ships built by Harland and Wolff {{Ship-stub