SS ''Rotterdam'' was a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

passenger ship A passenger ship is a merchant ship whose primary function is to carry passengers on the sea. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freig ...

that ran aground and sunk on the Zeehondenbank near the Dutch island of Schouwen, while she was travelling from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

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 ...

The Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Nether ...

Construction

''Rotterdam'' was constructed in 1872 at the Henderson, Coulborn and Company shipyard in

Renfrew Renfrew (; sco, Renfrew; gd, Rinn Friù) is a town west of Glasgow in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is the historic county town of Renfrewshire (historic), Renfrewshire. Called the "Cradle of the House of Stewart, Royal Stewarts" ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. She was completed in 1872 and launched on 6 June 1872. She was named ''Rotterdam'' after the Dutch city of the same name. The ship was long, with a beam of and had a depth of . The ship was assessed at and had 2 decks. She had a four-cylinder quadruple expansion engine driving a single screw propeller but she could also use her ten sails for propulsion. The engine was rated at .

Career

She commenced her maiden voyage on 15 October 1872, sailing from Rotterdam, the Netherlands to

, United States, via

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymout ...

, United Kingdom. On board were 10 Cabin class passengers, 60 emigrants and 600 tons of cargo. The crossing was made in 14 days and 6 hours. This was also the first voyage of an own ship for the company. The ship left New York on 5 November 1872 to return to Rotterdam.

The Boston Forger escape

Some excitement occurred on 28 January 1876 when ''the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reported that the well-known "Boston Forger" Mr. E. D. Winslow, had escaped from the United States to

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

by taking passage on the ''Rotterdam''. He had his family (3 persons), a bankers draft for 3,700 Dutch Guilders and $200,000 in gold coins with him. He was followed by two detectives but they only traced him to the

Holland America 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 oper ...

docks by the time the ship had sailed. As the United States had no extradition treaty with the Netherlands, his escape was complete.

The 1879 incident

On 29 November 1879 the ''

New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the ''New-York Tribune'' to form the ''New York Herald Tribune''. Hist ...

'' reported that the arrival of the ship created quite a stir as she arrived minus her foremast and her steerage quarters completely wrecked. The ship had left Rotterdam on 8 November 1879 and should have arrived, with good weather, in New York on 20 November. Some ferocious weather had caused considerable damage to the ship and had resulted in a delay of six days as she docked on 26 November 1879. There were no reports about any casualties.

New boilers

In early 1883 the ship was refurbished and new boilers installed at the yard of the

Nederlandsche Stoomboot Maatschappij The Nederlandsche Stoomboot Maatschappij ((Netherlands Steamboat Co)), abbreviated as NSM or NSBM, was a Dutch shipping line focused on inland navigation. In the 1820s it was important for the quick introduction of steam power on the Dutch rivers ...

in Rotterdam. (2,040 Brt.) This improved the fuel consumption considerably. The ship returned to service but only made a few crossings.

Sinking

On 26 September 1883, ''Rotterdam'' was on her 65th voyage from New York to Rotterdam when she ran ashore on the Zeehondenbank near the Dutch island of

Schouwen Schouwen is the name of a former island of the Dutch province of Zeeland.Schouwen-Duivelan ...

. All 56 passengers survived the incident and were evacuated from the ship by the ''Zierikzee'' (a local fishing vessel, adapted for use as a lifeboat) and landed safely ashore. The crew arrived shortly after having been transferred to the tugboat ''Nieuwesluis'' which had been sent out after the stranded ship had sent out a request. Later on a second tugboat, the ''Hellevoetsluis'' was dispatched. However, the ship was sitting so high up on the bank that very little could be done. Then the weather turned for the worse and the abandoned ship broke into two pieces on 12 October 1883 due to the pounding waves building up over the sandbank. Eventually the hull disappeared under the sea. Those items that could be salvaged were sold by public auction on 29 October 1883.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rotterdam (1872) Steamships of the Netherlands Ships sunk with no fatalities Ships built on the River Clyde Passenger ships of the Netherlands 1872 ships Maritime incidents in September 1883