Built as a passenger ship under yard No 300 by the Rotterdamsch Droogdok Maatschappij for the NV Mailschip Rotterdam (Holland America Lijn), Rotterdam.
27 October 1955 ordered.
14 December 1956 laid down
13 September 1958 launched as ROTTERDAM, christened by HM Queen Juliana and at 16.43 that day she left the slipway.
Tonnage 38,645 grt, 21,613 nrt, 7,678 dwt, dim. 228.12 x 28.65 x 21,96m. Draught 9m, length bpp.198.12m.
Powered by 6 Schelde-Parsons triple expansion steam turbines, manufactured by Koninklijke Maatschappij “De Schelde” at Vlissingen (Flushing), 35.000 hp, service speed 21.5 knots.
Accommodation for 647 first class, 809 tourist class passengers, crew 96 officers and 675 crew.
Building cost 130 million Dutch Guilders
11/12 July 1959 yard trials.
20 August 1959 delivered to owner during the official trials.
The fifth SS ROTTERDAM, also known as "The Grande Dame", is a former ocean liner and cruise ship, and has been a hotel ship in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, since 2010. She was launched by Queen Juliana of the Netherlands in a gala ceremony on 13 September 1958, and was completed the following summer. The ROTTERDAM was the last great Dutch "ship of state", employing the finest artisans from the Netherlands in her construction and fitting out process. Her career spanned forty-one years. She sailed from 1959 until her final retirement in September 2000.
Concept and design
Originally she was conceived as a running mate to the popular NIEUW AMSTERDAM launched in 1937, but work was put on hold at the outbreak of World War II in Europe. When economic conditions once again became favourable for completion of the new ship in early 1954, the beginning of the end of ocean liners as basic transport was visible on the horizon. The designers took this in mind and created a groundbreaking vessel, a two class, horizontally divided ship with movable partitions and a unique double staircase allowing for easy conversion to cruising. The christening and launch on September 13, 1958 by Queen Juliana was a huge crowd puller, with tens of thousands on both banks of the river. ROTTERDAM’s machinery was shifted aft, to the now-traditional two thirds aft position, and in lieu of a funnel twin uptake pipes were fitted. To provide balance, a large deckhouse was built atop the superstructure in the midships position of a typical funnel. While very controversial at the time, her appearance became groundbreaking, and her unique design features can be found on cruise ships today.
As the ROTTEDAM
Her sea trials and handing over to Holland America Line took place on July 20, 1959, just a few months before her maiden crossing of the Atlantic. On her maiden voyage she carried the then Crown Princess Beatrix of the Netherlands to New York. As more and more transatlantic liners started to disappear due to the popularity of plane services, the ROTTERDAM was retired from transatlantic service permanently in 1969, and afterwards she received a small refit for permanent cruising and began her new life as a full time cruise ship. The ROTTERDAM also became a one class ship after this refit. She became increasingly popular throughout the 1970s and early 1980s, with mostly American and Australian passengers. Another refit in 1977 saw her passenger capacity decreased from 1,499 to 1144. By the 1980s the ship had settled into a routine of winters in the Caribbean and summers in Alaska, with the occasional (and very popular) world cruise. When Carnival Cruise Lines took over Holland America Line in 1989 she remained in service and continued to until 1997, when Carnival announced, much to the dismay of the ship's loyal fans, that to upgrade her to meet the new 1997 SOLAS regulations would cost 40 million dollars. Carnival had been opting to retire what they had supposedly called the "old ship." A replacement, the sixth ROTTERDAM, was ordered from Fincantieri shipyards in Italy. A gala finale cruise ended her final season on September 30, 1997.
As the REMBRANDT
She was sold to Holland America Cruises NV, Nassau, Bahamas and managed by Premier Cruises and renamed SS REMBRANDT. Controversially Premier was able to refit the REMBRANDT for new safety regulations as well as many other things for half of what Carnival had predicted. She sailed for Premier along with the ex-ocean liners OCEANIC EUGENIO C and TRANSVAAL CASTLE all now named BIG RED BOAT I, II and III. She continued to serve as a fairly popular cruise ship out of Port Canaveral, Florida until September 13, 2000, when Premier Cruises shut down. It was midnight when this was made official and the captain of the REMBRANDT was ordered to dock in Halifax, Nova Scotia and offload all passengers. She was subsequently placed under arrest by the Halifax Sheriff's department until the next morning, then days later she sailed to be laid up in Freeport, Bahamas.
Restoration and hotel opening
01 May 2003 sold to RDM at Rotterdam
On July 12, 2004, owned by ss Rembrandt BV, Nassau Bahamas and under the name ROTTERDAM she arrived at Gibraltar for asbestos encapsulation and removal performed by the Cuddy Group of the UK. She next visited Cadiz where her hull was repainted its original Holland America grey, and then moved on to Poland and Germany for final restoration. 30 June 2005 she was sold to Rederij De Rotterdam BV, Rotterdam, Netherlands. She returned to the city of Rotterdam on August 8, 2008. She opened to the public on February 15, 2010 as a combination museum/hotel and school for vocational training. On 12 June 2013, she was sold to WestCord Hotels, which also owns the Hotel New York located in the former Holland America Line headquarters building in Rotterdam.
Photo is taken in January 1987 from the Dutch reefer vessel NORMANDIC when she was loading squid at anchor for Japan from Japanese trawlers on the road of Port Stanley.
The following is from the Penguin News the Falkland Island paper of 30 January 1987.
323 Elderly American cruise passengers were stranded in Port Stanley for a night last week when sudden strong winds prevented them from being able to return to their ship the ROTTERDAM. De group was part of a contingent of 800 tourists who had been brought by tenders from their cruise liner anchored in Port William to have a sightseeing stroll around the town on 29th January.
Sudden gale force winds and heaping seas prevented the tenders from returning all the tourist to the ROTTERDAM which finally sailed to find shelter in Berkeley Sound, after she has begun to drag her anchors. Those stranded on land took temporary refuge in the Town Hall and Cathedral until they were taken by a fleet of local vehicles to the canteen on FIPAS whilst attempts were made to find accommodation for the night.
Finally, in the reverse of usual billeting, the tourist became the guest of the Argylle & Sutherland Highlanders in Coastal III. The Battalion’s Commanding Officer Colonel Anthony Neilson welcomed them after they had been piped aboard by a Scottish piper.
The following morning after an early breakfast, the Americans were able to return to the ROTTERDAM; all indications being that they had enjoyed their stay in Stanley and the Scottish hospitality.
An unconfirmed report said that one American was found within a minefield fence, making friends with the penguins on Penguin Walk. When told he was in a minefield the American was rumoured to have replied ‘Oh really’ before carrying on with his appreciation of the wildlife until an Islander is said to have retrieved him.
One of the passengers who had returned to the ROTTERDAM had to be later airlifted from the ship back to Stanley with suspected appendicitis. The strong winds were nearing hurricane force and the lights failing as the Sea King search and rescue helicopter from no 78 Squadron collected the 72 year old woman, who is now said to be comfortable at the British Military Hospital. --------
It was a day of chaos on the road one trawler drifted on the beach, our anchor started to drag and we had to move out of the anchorage, with still all the dockworkers on board, who could not disembark due to the high seas and wind. The next morning after the wind had decreased we came again at anchor and resume loading.
After a stay of 33 days on the road we left with a full cargo of squid for Japan via Cape Horn, when we passed the cape famous for the bad weather, there was a little swell otherwise the sea was flat as a pancake.
2020 The ROTTERDAM is still in Rotterdam, owned by the same owner, IMO No 5301019.
Used as a hotel-ship.
Tristan da Cunha 1994 20p sg559, scott541
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Rotterdam
