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The Holland America Line ordered
Nieuw Amsterdam to provide
a running mate for their 29,511-ton
Statendam that entered service in
1929. She set out on her maiden voyage
from Rotterdam - Boulogne, Southampton
and New York May 10th 1938. Following the
outbreak of World War Two in September
1939, the Holland America Line operated
Nieuw Amsterdam on cruises
out of New York until the Dutch
surrendered to Germany May 14th 1940.
Nieuw Amsterdam was then
laid up at New York until the British
acquired her in September 1940. After
being converted to a troopship at
Halifax/Canada, her first wartime
deployments were to transport Australian
and New Zealand troops to the
battlegrounds in the Middle East. The
Japanese Attacks on Pearl Harbor December
7th 1941 led to Nieuw
Amsterdam being transferred to the
Pacific to serve as a troopship in the
war against Japan.
By 1944, troops from around the world
were gathering in Britain to prepare for
the invasion of Europe. Nieuw
Amsterdam was returned to the
Atlantic at that time and completed ten
trips across the North Atlantic
transporting Canadian and American troops
to Gourock/Scotland. Following the
completion of her repatriation duties in
April 1946, she had to undergo an
18-month refit to be converted back to a
passenger ship. The following 25 years
saw Nieuw Amsterdam
operated between the Rotterdam - New York
run and cruising. By 1971, Trans Atlantic
travel by ship had declined to an extent
the Holland America Line was forced to
base Nieuw Amsterdam at
Port Everglades to serve as a full time
cruise ship. She had to be withdrawn from
that service in 1973 as her
superstructure began showing signs of
heavy corrosion. Nieuw
Amsterdam set out on her final
voyage January 9th 1974 from Port
Everglades to the ship breakers at
Kaoshiung/Japan via the Panama Canal. She
arrived at Kaoshiung February 25th and
within 8 months had been completely
dismantled.
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