SS Nieuw Amsterdam (I)

SS Nieuw Amsterdam was a steam ocean liner that was launched in Ireland in 1905, completed in 1906 and scrapped in Japan in 1932. Holland America Line (Nederlandsch-Amerikaansche Stoomvaart Maatschappij or NASM) owned and operated her throughout her career.

She was the first of four NASM ships to have been named after the former Dutch colony of New Amsterdam. She was the largest and swiftest ship in the company's fleet until SS Rotterdam entered service in 1908.

The ship's usual route was between Rotterdam and Hoboken. She remained in service through most of the First World War, despite numerous disruptions by the Allied and German navies. In 1918 she repatriated Dutch seafarers whose ships had been seized by the US government, and in 1919 she repatriated members of the American Expeditionary Forces from France. In 1922 a cargo fire damaged the ship, and she was under repair for the next six months.

In July 1931 the North Atlantic Shipping Conference responded to a slump in trade by agreeing to reduce the number of passenger liners running between Europe and North America. Nieuw Amsterdam was one of a number of older ships that were identified as surplus. In January 1932 she was sold to be broken up.