The ship was built at the Harland & Wolff shipyard in Belfast as a passenger and cargo steamer with space for 104 first and 114 third class passengers for the White Star Line's London-New Zealand service. It was launched on June 28, 1893 and was initially baptized with the name Gothic . The 149.56 meter long and 16.21 meter wide ship had a chimney, four masts, two propellers and three decks. The ship measurement was 7755 GRT, 6644 tons below deck and 4975 NRT. It was powered by six-cylinder steam engines with vertical triple expansion, also built by Harland & Wolff, with an output of 700 nominal horsepower (nhp) and a top speed of 14 knots (25.9 km / h). On December 28, 1893, put Gothic in London on her maiden voyage to Wellington on Cape Town from. In June 1906 she was set aground near Plymouth and flooded after the cargo of wool caught fire.
In 1908 the Gothic was bought by the Antwerp-based shipping company Red Star Line, which renamed it Gothland . The ship was now sailing under the Belgian flag. Red Star planned the Gothland mainly for the busy emigration traffic, so that the passenger accommodations were set up in such a way that a total of 1800 travelers could be accommodated in four-bed cabins. On July 11, 1908, the Gothland sailed for the first time for the new owners from Antwerp to New York. She stayed on this route in the following years. On May 6, 1911 there was an exception when the Gothland was used for a crossing from Hamburg via Antwerp to Quebec and Montreal .
From 1911 to 1913 the steamer was temporarily used again by the White Star Line under the name Gothic for passenger traffic from Great Britain to Australia and New Zealand . On April 23, 1913, the ship ran again as Gothland for Red Star from Antwerp to New York. On June 23, 1914, the Gothland ran aground on Gunnar Rocks near the Isles of Scilly and was towed to Southampton three days later for repairs . During the First World War , the ship made several trips to transport relief supplies for the Commission for the Belgian Relief Agency from New York to Falmouth and Rotterdam . On April 20, 1916, she left New York for the first of these trips.
On May 6, 1919, the Gothland was on the Antwerp – New York route again, but initially only as a cargo ship. Passengers were not carried again until August 7, 1920. In March 1925, the now 32-year-old ship completed its last voyage from Antwerp to Philadelphia . After the Gothland was sold for demolition in November 1925, it was scrapped in Bo'ness (Scotland) the following year .
