SS ''Samland'' was an American-built

cargo ship A cargo ship or freighter is a merchant ship that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's List of seas, seas and Ocean, oceans each year, handling the bulk of international trade. ...

. Built in 1902 by the

New York Shipbuilding Corporation The New York Shipbuilding Corporation (or New York Ship for short) was an American shipbuilding company that operated from 1899 to 1968, ultimately completing more than 500 vessels for the U.S. Navy, the United States Merchant Marine, the United ...

Camden, New Jersey Camden is a City (New Jersey), city in Camden County, New Jersey, Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is part of the Delaware Valley metropolitan region. The city was incorporated on February 13, 1828.Snyder, John P''The Story of ...

, the ship was owned and operated by the

Atlantic Transport Line The Atlantic Transport Line was an American passenger shipping List of ship companies, line based in Baltimore, Maryland. In 1901 the company was folded into the International Mercantile Marine Company (IMM). History The line developed with rail ...

under the name SS ''Mississippi'' until 1906; that year, she was transferred to the

Red Star Line The Red Star Line was a shipping line founded in 1871 as a joint venture between the International Navigation Company of Philadelphia, which also ran the American Line, and the Société Anonyme de Navigation Belgo-Américaine of Antwerp, Belgi ...

and renamed ''Samland''. She was briefly transferred to the

White Star Line The White Star Line was a British shipping line. Founded out of the remains of a defunct Packet trade, packet company, it gradually grew to become one of the most prominent shipping companies in the world, providing passenger and cargo service ...

in 1911 and renamed SS ''Belgic'' until she returned to the Red Star Line in 1913 and resumed the name ''Samland''. The ship served with the Red Star Line until 1931 when she was broken up in

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Construction

In 1901, Bernard N. Baker of the

ordered six

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

s from American shipyards. One of the ships, a cargo ship named ''Mississippi'', was laid down on January 2, 1902, at

by the

. The ship, with the yard number of 8, was launched on December 15, 1902. ''Mississippi'' had three

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

s: SS ''Massachusetts'', SS ''Maine'', and SS ''Missouri''. The ship cost $729,000 to build, which was higher than the cost for a

Harland & Wolff Harland & Wolff Holdings plc is a British shipbuilding and Metal fabrication, fabrication company headquartered in London with sites in Belfast, Arnish yard, Arnish, Appledore, Torridge, Appledore and Methil. It specialises in ship repair, ship ...

equivalent ship which cost between $486,000 and $534,000. She was built with money that was loaned by J.P. Morgan & Co. ''Mississippi'', along with the five other steamships, was ordered because Baker believed that the Ship Subsidy Bill, proposed by United States Senator William P. Frye, would make the U.S. federal government subsidize the construction and operation of American registered ships; the bill passed by a 42–31 majority in the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

on March 14, 1902, but was not presented to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

because of strong opposition from the House Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries. As a result, no subsidies ever manifested.

Characteristics

The ship had a length of , a height of , and a beam of or . Her tonnage was 9,710 or 9,748 gross register tons; 7,559 tons under the deck and 6,353 net tons. She had two tanks; one held 980 tons and the other held 1,015 tons. The hull was fitted with three steel decks, three cement bulkheads, and a double bottom. Its

code letters Code letters or ship's call sign (or callsign) Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853"> SHIPSPOTTING.COM >> Mtide Taurus - IMO 7626853/ref> were a method of identifying ships before the introduction of modern navigation aids. Later, with the introduction of ...

were KSHG. When configured to carry passengers, the ship could carry 1,900 3rd-class passengers. She had four masts and one funnel. The ship was powered by two double-ended boilers, two single-ended boilers, and eighteen corrugated furnaces; new double-ended boilers were installed in 1906. The boilers and furnaces powered triple expansion engines which drove twin screws. It had a grate surface of heating surface of . The ship could reach a speed of .

Service history

''Mississippi'' was delivered to the Atlantic Transport Line on April 9, 1903. She was the second ship owned by the line to bear the name ''Mississippi''. The ship began her maiden voyage from

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

to London on April 16, 1903, and she later traveled that same route two more times. On July 7, 1906, ''Mississippi'' was transferred to the Belgian

and later renamed to ''Samland''. The ship operated a route from

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

to New York City, which later included a stopover in

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

. The ship remained registered in the United States until 1910 when she was registered in Belgium. In 1911, ''Samland'' operated a route traveling from

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

to Antwerp,

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, and

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

two times. On August 30, 1911, ''Samland'' was transferred to the British

and later renamed ''Belgic'', the third such ship owned by the line to bear that name. The ship operated a route from

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, and also operated a route between the

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

and

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. In December 1913, ''Belgic'' was returned to the Red Star Line and reverted to the name ''Samland''. She resumed her Antwerp to New York route between December 1913 and October 1914. When

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

began and the ship's homeport of Antwerp was captured by the

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

, ''Samland'' sailed a route from London to New York, which was operated by the Atlantic Transport Line, between October 1914 to February 1916. Beginning in March 1916, ''Samland'' was operated by the

Commission for Relief in Belgium The Commission for Relief in Belgium (CRB, or simply Belgian Relief) was an international, predominantly American, organization that arranged for the supply of food to German-occupied Belgium and northern France during the First World War. It ...

and was sailed between New York, Falmouth, and

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

. The ship resumed her Antwerp to New York route in February 1919. ''Samland'' sailed her final voyage on February 6, 1931, traveling from Antwerp to New York, Halifax, London, and back to Antwerp. The ship was sold for scrap in April 1931, being broken up in

later that year.

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

SS Belgic (III)
at ''White Star Line History Website'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Samland 1902 ships Cargo ships of Belgium Cargo ships of the United Kingdom Cargo ships of the United States Ships built by New York Shipbuilding Corporation Ships built in Camden, New Jersey Ships of the Red Star Line Ships of the White Star Line