SS Vaderland (1900)

Vaderland, seen in 1910
History
Name
  • 1900: Vaderland
  • 1915: Southland
OwnerInternational Navigation Company
Operator
Port of registry
Route
OrderedJuly 1899
Builder
Yard number341
Launched12 July 1900
Maiden voyageAntwerp – Southampton – New York, 8 December 1900
FateSunk on 4 June 1917 by U-70
Notes
General characteristics
TypeOcean liner
Tonnage11,899 GRT
Length560 ft 10 in (170.94 m)
Beam60 ft 2 in (18.34 m)
Propulsion
Speed15 knots (28 km/h)
Capacity
  • Passengers:
  • 342 first class
  • 194 second class
  • 626 third class
Crew121
Notestwo funnels, four masts

SS Vaderland was an ocean liner launched in July 1900 for the Red Star Line service between Antwerp and New York. During her passenger career, the ship initially sailed under British registry, but was re-registered in Antwerp in 1903. Vaderland was a sister ship to Zeeland and a near sister ship to Kroonland and Finland.

After the beginning of the First World War, Vaderland was re-registered in Liverpool and converted to a troopship, ferrying troops of the Canadian Expeditionary Force from Halifax to Liverpool. While under the operation of White Star–Dominion in 1915, she was renamed Southland to avoid the German-sounding Vaderland.

In September 1915, Southland was torpedoed in the Aegean Sea by German submarine UB-14 with the loss of 40 men. The ship was beached, repaired, and returned to service in August 1916. While in service between the United Kingdom and Canada on 4 June 1917, Southland was torpedoed a second time, this time by U-70; she was sunk off the coast of Ireland with the loss of four lives.