The steamship was built in 1902 at the New York Shipbuilding yard in the industrial and port city of Camden in the US state of New Jersey . The construction costs were 729,000 US dollars in terms of monetary value at the time. The 150.47 meter long and 17.74 meter wide steamer was built for the American shipping company Atlantic Transport Line and named Mississippi . The ship had a funnel, four masts with the rigging of a schooner , two steel propellers , three steel decks and could reach a top speed of 14 knots. A total of 1900 passengers could be carried.
The ship measurements were 7913 GRT, 7559 tons below deck and 6353 NRT. The steamer was equipped with watertight bulkheads , wireless radio , a false floor , electric lights and cooling systems. It was designed along with three other ships, the Missouri , Massachusetts and Maine , as a cargo ship for the Atlantic Transport Line. The steamer was on January 2, 1902 the keel laid, expired on 25 December 1902 from the pile and was handed over to the owners on April 9, 1903rd It sailed on April 16, 1903 as the Mississippi on its maiden voyage from Baltimore to London . On September 30, 1903, she made her last trip on this route. The ship then went to the Antwerp -based Belgian-American shipping company Red Star Line and was used on the Antwerp – Dover – New York route that is typical for the company . On July 26, 1906, the new addition was named Samland . From January 1, 1910, de Samland no longer steamed under the American, but under the Belgian flag. On January 7, 1911, the ship began its last voyage from Antwerp via Dover to New York.
From April 7, 1911, the Samland was used for two crossings from Hamburg via Antwerp to Québec and Montreal . From August 30, 1911 until 1913, the Samland was under the name Belgic in the Australia service of the White Star Line . From December 27, 1913, the ship drove again for the Red Star Line on the original route Antwerp - New York. On October 2, 1914, she took off for the first trip from London to New York, where she only carried cargo and had no passengers on board. The last voyage for this purpose began on February 13, 1916. On March 12, 1916, the Samland put the first of three crossings in the service of the Commission for the Belgian Relief Agency on the route New York - Falmouth - Rotterdam .
On December 2, 1916, the Samland was stopped by the German auxiliary cruiser SMS Möve on a journey from Hoboken to Rotterdam under the command of Captain Wadsworth . The encounter became known after the arrival of the Samland in Falmouth on December 9, 1916 and sparked a controversy, since the ship was in the service of the Commission for the Belgian Relief Agency and was therefore considered a neutral ship. From February 28, 1919, the Samland was back on the Antwerp-New York route. On February 6, 1931, the ship left for its last voyage on the route. It was sold for demolition in April 1931 and was broken up in Italy that same year.
