SS Rotterdam

ROTTERDAM V

The Rotterdam ( V) is a former Dutch passenger ship, built by the Dutch shipyard Rotterdamsche Dry Dock Maatschappij. It is the largest ever built in the Netherlands passenger ship.

History

The Rotterdam was built for the Holland-America Lijn and was used in scheduled service between Rotterdam and New York City. She left Rotterdam on September 3, 1959 maiden voyage to New York. Among the passengers was also Crown Princess Beatrix. As the transatlantic air transport became more and more importance, the route was set in 1971 after more than ten years. As of 1971, the Rotterdam, continued to be used sails under the Dutch flag for the Holland-America Lijn on cruises around the globe. Among the most common targets included primarily the Caribbean and Alaska.

After a final gala trip under Captain Peter Bos Rotterdam was sold on 30 September 1997 and replaced by the new Rotterdam. The buyer was the U.S. shipping company " Premier Cruises ". The ship was renamed to the name of Rembrandt. However, in 2000, the American shipping company ran into financial difficulties, so that the Rembrandt was taken out of service and was in Freeport in the Bahamas at anchor. The future of old Rotterdam was completely uncertain at this time.

After three years, the cruise ship was purchased in 2003 by the Dutch steamship Rotterdam BV and thus came under the Dutch flag. The Rembrandt also received again its old name Rotterdam. In 2004, the ship Cammell Laird shipyard in Gibraltar was subjected to asbestos removal and maintenance.

In the same year the steamship company Rotterdam passed into the hands of the Port of Rotterdam. In December 2004, negotiations with the hotel " Cruiseship Operations 2 ( HCO2 ) " were added to take advantage of the ship in Maashaven as a hotel, restaurant and casino. 2005 was planned to completely rid the ship of asbestos. In planning, however, it became clear that the project is not financially viable. The project was therefore considered to have failed and the Woonbron and Euro balance BV decided to buy the ship and to integrate it in the new company De Rotterdam BV. However, the asbestos problem was still, so that the ship in Cadiz, Spain was made asbestos safely.

Since then, the Rotterdam was in Wilhelmshaven, Germany and has been renovated. Originally the ship was to be transferred in 2006 to Rotterdam and found its final resting place before Katendrecht. The transfer was delayed because of the extensive renovation work, in particular the removal of asbestos and the multiple change the land use plan and over again, but was completed in the summer of 2008. The ship was released to the public in 2009.

Current use

Since 2009, the ship will be used multifunctional. During the day it is a museum ship one of the visitors focus on the Rotterdam tourism sector dar. It is visited daily by hundreds of people and approached by numerous tours. In the evenings, the emphasis is in the gastronomy and night in the hotel industry. In addition, several rooms can be rented.