citations for verification . please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources . unsourced material may be challenged and removed . september 2014 learn how and when to remove this template message holland america line type subsidiary industry transportation founded 1873 as the netherlands america steamship company headquarters seattle united states key people stein kruse chief executive officer holland america group orlando ashford president products cruises parent carnival corporation & plc website hollandamerica.com poster for holland amerika lijn 1898 holland america line is an american british owned cruise line ; a subsidiary of carnival corporation & plc. originating in the netherlands the company is now based in seattle united states . from 1873 to 1989 it was a dutch shipping line a passenger line a cargo line and a cruise line operating primarily between the netherlands and north america . as part of this rich legacy it was instrumental in the transport of many hundreds of thousands of immigrants from the netherlands to north america . contents 1 history as a dutch shipping and passenger line 1873 1989 1.1 former fleet before 1989 2 history as a us based cruise line 1989 today 3 current fleet 3.1 statendam class s class 3.2 rotterdam class r class 3.3 vista class v class 3.4 signature class 3.5 pinnacle class 3.6 the elegant explorer 4 future fleet 4.1 pinnacle class 5 former fleet after 1989 6 see also 7 references 7.1 notes 7.2 bibliography 8 external links history as a dutch shipping and passenger line 1873 1989 edit holland america line was founded in 1873 as the nederlandsche amerikaansche stoomvaart maatschappij dutch american steamship company a shipping and passenger line . 1 it was headquartered in rotterdam the netherlands and provided service to the americas . the company was formed as a result of the reorganization of an earlier company plate reuchlin & co. the company s first ship was the original rotterdam which sailed its 15 day maiden voyage from the netherlands to new york city on october 15 1872 . other services were started to other new world ports including hoboken baltimore and south america . cargo service to new york started in 1899 . during the first 25 years the company carried 400 000 people from europe to the americas . other north american ports were added during the early 20th century . though transportation and shipping were the primary sources of revenue in 1895 hal offered its first vacation cruise . its second vacation cruise from new york to palestine was first offered in 1910 . one notable ship was the elegant 36 000 gross ton ss nieuw amsterdam of 1937 it and the rms queen mary being the only two liners built in the 1930s to make a profit . at the start of the second world war hal had 25 ships ; nine remained at war s end . at the beginning of the war the westernland acquired from the red star line in 1939 berthed at falmouth england became the seat of the dutch government . 2 the nieuw amsterdam sailed half a million miles transporting 400 000 military personnel . after the war the cruise line was instrumental in transporting a massive wave of immigrants from the netherlands to canada and elsewhere . another notable ship during the post war period was the ss rotterdam of 1959 one of the first north atlantic ships equipped for two class transatlantic crossing and one class luxury cruising . by the late 1960s the golden era of transatlantic passenger ships had been ended by the introduction of air travel . hal ended transatlantic service during the early 1970s leaving the north atlantic passenger trade for cunard s rms queen elizabeth 2 . in 1973 it sold its cargo shipping division . it ceased operating as a dutch line in 1989 when it was purchased by carnival for 1.2 billion guilders 530 million euros . the proceeds were put into an investment company hal investments the majority of which is owned by the van der vorm family . former fleet before 1989 edit this is the category of holland america line ships that left service or sank before 1989 . the ones that had left service after 1989 are at the bottom of the page at the other category . former head office of hal in rotterdam now the hotel new york ms prinsendam 1973 80 sank off of the coast of alaska . ss veendam iii 1972 74 1975 76 1978 84 last in service for commodore cruise line as enchanted isle 3 ss volendam i 1922 1952 1940 45 escaped to britain in ww2 served as troop transport returned to rotterdam in 1945 ss volendam ii 1972 76 1978 84 sister to ss veendam iii ; last known as universe explorer of world explorer lines 4 ss statendam i 1898 1911 sold to the allan line ss statendam ii taken over before completion as the white star line s ss justicia ss statendam iii 1929 1940 scrapped after being set on fire to avoid capture at rotterdam ss statendam iv 1956 1982 last in service for regent star as regency . inactive after regent star went bankrupt . 5 ss maasdam 1921 iii torpedoed and sunk in convoy hx 133 on 27 jun 1941 by u 564 south of iceland 6 ss maasdam iv 1952 1968 1968 1990 in service for polish ocean lines as stefan batory the last regularly scheduled transatlantic liner scrapped turkey 2000 7 ss ryndam ii 1951 1973 sank 2003 on way to breakers 7 ss waterman 1951 1963 launched january 16 1945 decommissioned 1970 . 8 ss zuiderkruis 1951 1963 launched may 5 1944 decommissioned 1969 . 8 ss groote beer 1951 1963 launched june 17 1944 decommissioned 1971 . 8 ss westerdam 1945 1965 combination first class passenger cargo vessel ; scrapped spain 1965 mv zaandam 1939 1942 with passengers and 9200 tons of cargo was torpedoed and sunk in the atlantic ocean 300 nautical miles 560 km north of cape sao roque brazil with the loss of 134 of the 299 people on board . 9 ss nieuw amsterdam 1937 in ww2 escaped to us neutral port served as a british war transport carrying over 350 000 returned to holland in 1946 . breakers yard in 1974 . ss rotterdam 1908 scrapped 1940 . ss noordam 1902 scrapped 1927 alerted rms titanic to ice early into its ill fated maiden voyage . 10 ss potsdam 1900 scrapped 1947 . it was the largest ship hal owned at the time it was in service . ss rotterdam 1886 fate unknown . rotterdam 1872 wrecked september 26 1883 . ss veendam ii sister ship of ss volendam i . in 1940 bombed in rotterdam repaired and requestioned by hamburg america line . used for german submarine crews stationed in hamburg . returned to service from rotterdam 1947 scrapped baltimore 1953 . ms sommelsdijk iii 1939 pacific service wartime service as u.s. troopship until atlantic service in 1947 renamed sommelsdyk1954 and scrapped 1965 . 11 12 history as a us based cruise line 1989 today edit in 1989 the holland america line was purchased by carnival corp thus becoming an american owned cruise line headquartered in seattle in the united states . 13 the ms rotterdam and ms eurodam docked in tallinn estonia in 2003 holland america announced its signature of excellence program . the ongoing program has focused on upgrading existing ships . the first phase included adding the pinnacle grill specialty restaurant the neptune lounge for suite guests the culinary arts center with demonstration kitchen expanded children s and teens facilities enhanced stateroom amenities and improved dining and enrichment offerings . the second phase of improvements announced in 2008 added a new bar lounge area called mix the showroom at sea show lounge nightclub the retreat resort pool area with pizzeria and led screen and the canaletto italian specialty restaurant among other enhancements . citation needed in the summer of 2011 the ms rotterdam did two transatlantic crossings the first traditional transatlantic runs made by the line in more than 40 years . citation needed since september 2012 the rotterdam has been based year round out of rotterdam sailing to europe the caribbean as well as asia . citation needed ms prinsendam and ms amsterdam make annual grand voyages lasting more than 60 days exploring more exotic destinations in south america and africa ; the ms amsterdam also make annual world voyages sailing around the world usually ranging from january to march april may . citation needed the line currently operates five different classes of ship the smaller and older s class vessels ; the mid range r class ; the vista class ; the newest and largest signature class and the small 793 passenger prinsendam originally the royal viking sun then seabourn sun until hal s purchase in 2002 . citation needed all hal ships have a dark blue hull with white superstructure with the company s logo featured prominently on the functional smoke stacks . citation needed holland america also owns the following the westmark hotel chain operating in alaska and the yukon 14 worldwide shore services providing warehouse and logistical support ; and citation needed half moon cay a private caribbean island known officially as little san salvador island with most caribbean cruises spending a day there . citation needed on october 26 2012 it was announced that a memorandum of agreement had been signed with italian shipbuilder fincantieri for the construction of a 2 660 passenger ship for holland america line scheduled for delivery in spring 2016 . the ms koningsdam which will be a new class of vessel for the line the pinnacle class will enter service five years after the last holland america ship the ms nieuw amsterdam delivered in 2010 . also noted was that the addition of new ships would maintain passenger capacity if some of the older carnival corporation ships are sold . 15 current fleet edit statendam class s class edit vessel name in hal service gross tonnage maximum speed passenger complement enclosed passenger decks flag notes image ms maasdam 1993 55 575 22 knots 1 258 9 netherlands april 2011 refit added lanai and spa staterooms mix lounge and showroom at sea ms veendam 1996 57 092 22 knots 1 350 9 netherlands april 2009 refit added lanai spa and verandah staterooms mix lounge showroom at sea the retreat aft pool area with shallow pool and movie screen moved up to lido deck level and duck tail for stability . april 2011 refit updated retreat area removing wading pool in favor of several smaller hot cool tubs . the two s class ships statendam and maasdam began life as virtually identical vessels except for d cor . they were the first new hal cruise ships to incorporate features like the atrium the two deck main dining room and show lounge and the lido pool with retractable roof . these vessels are currently undergoing a series of major refits . citation needed all s class ships received the first phase of signature of excellence upgrades detailed above between 2004 and 2006 . citation needed it was announced on may 19 2014 that both the statendam & ryndam will transfer to p & o cruises australia fleet ; with more details to come . 16 rotterdam class r class edit vessel name in hal service gross tonnage maximum speed passenger complement enclosed passenger decks flag notes image ms rotterdam 1997 61 849 25 knots 1 404 9 netherlands december 2009 refit added lanai spa and verandah staterooms mix lounge showroom at sea the retreat aft pool area moved up to lido deck level with shallow pool and movie screen ms volendam 1999 61 214 23 knots 1 432 9 netherlands ms zaandam 2000 61 396 23 knots 1 432 9 netherlands ms amsterdam 2000 62 735 25 knots 1