SS Ryndam (1950)

The SS Ryndam (also spelled Rijndam) was a ship that was built for the Nederlandsch-Amerikaansche Stoomvaart-Maatschappij, more widely know in English as the Holland America Line in 1951. She was built by N.V. Dok en Werfmaatschappij Wilton-Fijenoord, Schiedam. The original intent of her design was to be designated as the freighter Dinteldyk (which was also designed to carry a small complement of passengers). A decision was made to have her redesigned as a liner in 1950, but she still retained the stout hull lines and sturdy machinery of a freighter.[1][2] The ship played a major role in post-war immigration from Europe making frequent voyages to New York City and the Pier 21 immigration facility in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. In March 1962 Edward & Alex Van Halen, and their parents Jan & Eugenia Van Halen, immigrated to the US aboard the SS Ryndam.

History
Netherlands
Name:	Ryndam
Operator:	NASM
Builder:	N.V. Dok- en Werfmaatschappij Wilton-Fijenoord, Schiedam, Netherlands[1]
Yard number:	732[2]
Laid down:	17 December 1949[2]
Launched:	18 December 1950
Christened:	19 December 1950 Mrs. C. Tjarda van Stakenborgh Stachouwer-Marburg (wife of the prewar Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies)[2]
Acquired:	10 July 1951[2]
Maiden voyage:	16 July 1951;[2] one of the passengers on the maiden voyage was Josef Spies, of Greisselbach, Germany, one of about 50 young men and women who made the voyage as part of the National Grange Farm Organization German-American Youth Exchange Program.
In service:	1951-1966 with NASM[2]
Out of service:	2003
Identification:	IMO number: 5302776
Fate:	Sank en route to scrapping at Alang, India
Notes:	Originally ordered as combination cargo passenger ship Dinteldijk
General characteristics
Displacement:	15,015 GRT[1]
Length:	503 ft (153.3 m)[2]
Beam:	69 ft (21.0 m)[2]
Installed power:	cross-compound General Electric steam turbines (built in 1945) 8,500shp double-reduction geared[2]
Propulsion:	Single screw[2]
Speed:	16.5 knots[2]
Capacity:	39 first class berths, 854 Tourist passengers[2]
Notes:	Daily fuel consumption 53 tons, daily (considered low for that time)[2]

In 1973, she was sold to a Panamanian subsidiary of a Greek shipping interest and extensively refitted with her bow line changed, many internal changes, and alterations to her superstructure. This was done to give her a more modern (at the time) 1970s design appearance.[2] In 1988 she was sold to gaming interests and performed short cruises in the Gulf of Mexico under the name Pride of Mississippi, and in 1991 was renamed Pride of Galveston.[1] In 1993, she was docked permanently in Gulfport, Mississippi and became the Copa Casino. When Copa Casino adopted a more permanent structure, a decision was made that she should be scrapped. She foundered off the coast of the Dominican Republic on her way to the ship breakers in Alang, India on 16 March 2003.