Built as a passenger- cargo vessel under yard No 733 by Dok & Werf Mij Wilton-Fijenoord N.V., Schiedam for the Nederlandse Amerikaanse Stoomvaart Mij (HAL), Rotterdam.
She was ordered as a cargo vessel with the intention to name her DIEMERDIJK but before commenced building the plans were changed to a passenger-cargo vessel.
19 December 1950 laid down.
05 April 1952 launched as the MAASDAM, christened by Mrs. Adriaan Gips.
Tonnage 15,024 grt, 8,976 nrt, 7,057 dwt., dim. 153.4 x 21.1 x 8.8m. (draught), length bpp. 145.0m.
Powered by two geared General Electric steam turbines, 9,350 shp., on shaft, speed 16.5 knots.
Bunker capacity 1.775 ton oil.
Four holds total 167,815 cubic ft. general cargo and 156,472 cubic ft. reefer cargo.
Passenger accommodation for 39 first, 842 tourist class passengers. Crew 304.
10 August 1952 delivered to the HAL.
11 August 1952 she left for her maiden voyage from Rotterdam and via Le Havre and Southampton she sailed to Montreal before heading to New York where she arrived on 27 August 1952.
10 December 1952 she came in collision on the New Waterway with the small German tanker ELLEN of 268 ton, which sank and 6 crewmembers drowned. The MAASDAM was not damaged.
03 October 1954 on a homeward bound voyage from New York she came in collision during dense fog near Rhode Island with the merchant vessel TOFEVO in which she got bow damage, both ships sailed to New York for repair.
27 October 1954 she left after the repair New York.
The MAASDAM was well known during bad weather that she heavily pounded on the seas, and to solve this problem she was fitted out in 1955 with Denny Brown stabilizers.
1961 After a renovation the tourist class passengers were reduced to 822.
The first time she made also a call in Hamburg she did run on 15 February 1963 near Weser lightship during dense fog on the wreck of the British freighter HARBOROUGH at 08.05a.m., the wreck buoy marking the wreck was by floating ice shifted to an other position.
The MAASDAM got a 10 foot long rupture in her hull, and a list of 12 degree.
The 500 passengers left the ship in the lifeboats and were rescued by the Weser pilot boat.
The vessel assisted by tug sailed to the yard of Norddeutsche Lloyd Werft for repair.
16 April 1963 after repair she sailed from Bremerhaven.
The passenger trade across the North Atlantic by ship decreased due to the aircrafts in the sixties.
The HAL started a around the world service, the first sailing of the MAASDAM from Rotterdam was on 20 October 1965 via Southampton via the Suez Canal to Australia and New Zealand on her return voyage via the West coast of the USA and the Panama Canal, New York and Cobh back to Rotterdam. The service was not so profitable. The MAASDAM made her last voyage in the service from 07 January 1968 till 03 April 1968.
15 May 1968 the HAL sold the MAASDAM to Poland.
08 October 1968 delivered to the Polish Ocean Line, and the same day she sailed from Rotterdam under command of Captain Pszenny and renamed in STEFAN BATORY to Poland.
Refitted in two stages by the Gdanskes Stocznie Remontowa yard in Gdansk from November 1968 till April 1969 for her first stage.
After completing she had a more streamlined funnel and was fitted out with electric cranes.
Accommodation for 39 first and 766 tourist class passengers.
11 April 1969 she made her first sailing in the service between Poland and Canada when she left from Gdynia and via Copenhagen and Tilbury to Quebec and Montreal where she arrived on 23 April.
The second refit was from midst December to March 1970 at Gdansk.
Thereafter the STEFAN BATORY was regular in the news, when she on 4 January 1971 arrived in New York the dockers did not want to unload the vessel in protest against the politic situation in Poland.
January 1974, 81 people deserted the vessel in Hamburg, 1984 again in Hamburg 192 people deserted from the vessel.
1976 She was refitted in a one class vessel with 779 passengers.
1977 She made only calls at Gdynia, Rotterdam, Tilbury and Montreal, she made that year only 6 crossings in this service, while otherwise was used in the cruise trade.
17 March 1976 she made her last call at New York.
1979 She made a Mediterranean and Black Sea cruise of 52 days during this cruise she made calls at 22 ports.
August 1986 she made her first Norway Fjord cruise from Tilbury, U.K.
1985 She had under the name STEFAN BATORY made 131 Atlantic voyages and in that time she carried 86,049 passengers.
22 September 1987 she made her last voyage in the service across the North Atlantic, sailed from Gdynia on 22 September 1987 and arrived at Montreal on 05 October, she returned in Gdynia on 20 October 1987.
Then only used for cruising.
Her last voyage was in 1988 to the West Indies.
1988 Sold to Erne Cia Maritime SA, Panama (Helenic Polish Line) and not renamed.
1989 Sold to City Shipping International Inc., Nassau, Bahamas and renamed STEFAN.
From 1990 till 1992 in use at Gothenburg as accommodation ship for asylum seekers.
1992 Out of service.
2000 Sold to Kalkavanlar, Aliaga, Turkey for scrapping, she arrived there on 22 March 2000.
Poland 1971 60g sg2031, scott1781, and 1976 1.50zl, sg2466, scott2191, 2024 4.90Zl sg?, Scott?
Source: Wikipedia. Blauwe Wimpel.
http://www.miramarshipindex.org.nz
