SS Vaderland (1900)

Vaderland, seen in 1910
History
Name	1900: Vaderland 1915: Southland
Owner	International Navigation Company
Operator	1901: American Line (charter) 1903–1914: Red Star Line 1914–1917: White Star–Dominion
Port of registry	1900: Liverpool 1903: Antwerp 1914: Liverpool
Route	1900: Antwerp – Southampton – New York 1901: Southampton – Cherbourg – New York 1903: Antwerp – New York 1914: Liverpool – New York 1914: Liverpool – Halifax – Portland, Maine 1915: (troopship) 1916: Liverpool – Quebec – Montreal
Ordered	July 1899
Builder	John Brown & Company Clydebank, Glasgow
Yard number	341
Launched	12 July 1900
Maiden voyage	Antwerp – Southampton – New York, 8 December 1900
Fate	Sunk on 4 June 1917 by U-70
Notes	Sister ship of Zeeland; near sister to Kroonland, Finland
General characteristics
Type	Ocean liner
Tonnage	11,899 GRT
Length	560 ft 10 in (170.94 m)
Beam	60 ft 2 in (18.34 m)
Propulsion	2 × propeller shafts 2 × quadruple-expansion steam engines
Speed	15 knots (28 km/h)
Capacity	Passengers: 342 first class 194 second class 626 third class
Crew	121
Notes	two 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.