The World's Passenger Ships

The World's Passenger Ships Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from The World's Passenger Ships, Travel and transport, Lytham St Annes.

Don Hazeldine's photo/history database of 2200 ships; 1000 finished, 1100 in service & about 100 on order
Replacing my old page 'The World's Passenger Ships 1858-2028'

COLOMBIE 1931The Colombie was launched on 18 July 1931 Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (French Line) by Ateliers et C...
25/08/2026

COLOMBIE 1931
The Colombie was launched on 18 July 1931 Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (French Line) by Ateliers et Chantiers de France, Dunkirk, France. She was 13.803 gross tons, length 158.49 m (520 ft 0 in), beam 20.2 m (66 ft 3 in), draft 8.1 m (26 ft 7 in). She had two steam turbines, driving 2 propellers giving a speed of 16 knots. She had accommodation for 491 passengers and during her wartime service as a hospital ship, 828 patients.
Throughout the 1930s she served as a merchant ship, then in 1940 she was converted to an armed merchant ship. In December 1942, Colombie was taken over by US Army at Casablanca, Morocco and sent to New York to be converted to a troopship by Arthur Tickle Engineering Company. She was still under jurisdiction of War Shipping Administration, with French Line.
She operated between the east coast of the United States and the Europe-Africa-Middle East theaters of operations. The ship was acquired by the US Army Transportation Service for conversion to a hospital ship by Arthur Tickle Engineering Works in Brooklyn, New York, between January and April 1945.
She was recommissioned as USAHS Aleda E. Lutz on 13 February 1945. Named after Lt. Aleda E. Lutz, a women war hero of World War II. Lutz was the first American woman to die in combat during World War II and the highest decorated woman in the history of the US military. The ship moored at Pearl Harbor from 21 to 24 November 1945.
USAHS Aleda E. Lutz was decommissioned on 6 April 1946 and transferred to the War Shipping Administration but five days later returned to French Line. Colombie was modernized and returned to commercial service on the Havre-West Indies route.
Colombie was sold to Typaldos Lines in 1964 and renamed Atlantica. Later, following 1966 loss of the ferry Heraklion and the convictions for manslaughter, negligence, and document falsification, Typaldos Lines was declared bankrupt and Atlantica was abandoned, then sold for scrapping in 1974.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Colombie]

04/08/2026

Bolette in Andalsnes today

BOLETTE in Bergen today
02/08/2026

BOLETTE in Bergen today

CORINTHIAN in Lerwick, Shetland - taken from the BOLETTE
01/08/2026

CORINTHIAN in Lerwick, Shetland - taken from the BOLETTE

Fred Olsen's BOLETTE in Lerwick, Shetland today
01/08/2026

Fred Olsen's BOLETTE in Lerwick, Shetland today

Azamara Quest in Lerwick, Shetland today
01/08/2026

Azamara Quest in Lerwick, Shetland today

PITTSBURGH 1920The Pittsburgh was a 16,322 gross ton ship, built by Harland & Wolff, Belfast for the American Line. Her ...
28/07/2026

PITTSBURGH 1920
The Pittsburgh was a 16,322 gross ton ship, built by Harland & Wolff, Belfast for the American Line. Her details were - length 574.4ft x beam 67.8ft, two funnels, two masts, triple propellers and a speed of 15 knots. There was accommodation for 600-cabin and 1,500-3rd class passengers. Laid down in November 1913, her building was delayed by the war and she wasn't launched until 11th November 1920.
Her maiden voyage commenced 6th June 1922 when she left Liverpool for Philadelphia and Boston under charter to the White Star Line. In November 1922 she rescued the crew of the Italian MONTE GRAPPA which had been abandoned in sinking condition in the North Atlantic. On 1st December 1922 she started her first Bremen - Southampton - Halifax - New York sailing, and on 25th November 1923 started her first Hamburg - Southampton - Halifax - New York voyage. On 20th January 1925 she was chartered to Red Star Line and commenced Antwerp - Southampton - Halifax - New York sailings.
Renamed PENNLAND, she started her first voyage under this name on the same route on 2nd April 1926 and in January 1930 was refitted to carry tourist and 3rd class. Her last Antwerp – Le Havre - Southampton - New York – Le Havre - London - Antwerp voyage started on 16th November 1934 and she then went to Bernstein Red Star Line of Hamburg.
Reconditioned at Kiel to carry 486 tourist passengers, she started Antwerp - Southampton - New York voyages on 10th May 1935. Her last sailing on this service started in April 1939 and she was then sold to Holland America Line. She resumed Antwerp - Southampton - New York voyages in June 1939. On 10th March 1940 she sailed from Antwerp for New York and Antwerp and in April 1940 made her final Antwerp - Dunkirk - New York crossing.
Taken over by the British Ministry of War Transport, she served as a troopship until 25th April 1941 when she was bombed and sunk by German aircraft in the Gulf of Athens.

President Harrison 1920 The President Harrison was built as the Wolverine State, a steam passenger-cargo ship by the New...
28/07/2026

President Harrison 1920
The President Harrison was built as the Wolverine State, a steam passenger-cargo ship by the New York Shipbuilding Company of Camden, New Jersey for the United States Shipping Board (USSB) as part of the wartime shipbuilding program of the Emergency Fleet Corporation (EFC) to restore the nation's Merchant Marine.
She was laid down on 13 May 1919, launched on 16 September 1920, commissioned on 6 January and made her maiden voyage on 22 January 1921. She was 10533 gross tons, length 502.1 ft (153.0 m), beam 62.2 ft (19.0 m), draft 28.3 ft (8.6 m), was powered by New York Shipbuilding Co. triple expansion engines driving 2 propellers giving a speed of 14 knots.
The ship was initially employed on the United States to India route until its cancellation in Spring 1922. In April 1922 the steamer was renamed President Harrison. In 1923 she conducted several trips between California and the east coast of South America, before being sold together with several other ships of her class to the Dollar Steamship Company. She was to serve on their proposed round-the-world passenger service to be run between San Francisco and New York via East Asia and the Mediterranean. President Harrison together with six of her sister ships were purchased by the Dollar Steamship Co. for $550,000 each.
President Harrison was chartered by the United States Navy 27–28 November 1941 to evacuate the 4th Marines from Shanghai (and also the crates with the remains of the now lost Peking Man), returning to Olongapo, Philippines on 3 December
Under pursuit by the Japanese, she was run aground on 8 December 1941, and was captured by the Japanese after she was deliberately run aground to avoid the capture. The President Harrison struck the edge of the island on her port side and then rolled off. The impact ripped a hole 90 feet long, but did not reach the engine room spaces. The ship almost turned over, but righted herself. Strong currents then carried her off the rocks and she settled on a mud bank. Three were killed when a lifeboat was cut in half by her propellers during the abandoning of the ship. The crew and troops, 156 in total, were sent to prisoner of war (POW) camps. They were some of the first US POWs of World War II. In the POW camp, 12 of the ship's crew died; three were shot dead exiting the ship. Some of the crew were sent to coal mine forced labour camps in Hokkaido, Japan. Japan salvaged and repaired the ship, renaming her Kakko Maru and later Kachidoki Maru.
The capture ship was requisitioned by the Imperial Japanese Army. Under IJA control the ship sailed between Japan, Singapore and the Philippines carrying troops and military supplies. She was torpedoed and sunk on 12 September 1944 on one of her regular trips, while carrying 950 Allied prisoners of war of which 431 were killed. The troopship was part of convoy HI-72, transporting some 950 Australian and British POWs and 1,095 Japanese from Singapore to Formosa (Taiwan). Another ship in the convoy was SS Rakuyō Maru with 1,317 Allied POWs on board. The convoy was attacked in the Luzon Strait by a wolfpack consisting of three US submarines: Growler, Pampanito and Sealion. Rakuyō Maru was torpedoed by Sealion and sunk with 1,159 POWs killed.
Kachidoki Maru was torpedoed and sunk by Pampanito. Japanese destroyers rescued most Japanese and 520 British prisoners from Kachidoki Maru. 431 prisoners of war, 45 troops and 12 crewmen were killed. The survivors were transferred to Kibutsu Maru and taken to Japan.

ZEELAND 1900The Zeeland was 11,905 gross tons, length 561.6ft x beam 60.2ft, two funnels, four masts, twin propellers gi...
27/07/2026

ZEELAND 1900
The Zeeland was 11,905 gross tons, length 561.6ft x beam 60.2ft, two funnels, four masts, twin propellers giving a speed of 15 knots. There was accommodation for 342-1st, 194-2nd and 626-3rd class passengers. Launched on 24th November 1900 by John Brown & Co., Glasgow as the ZEELAND for the Red Star Line, she was registered under the British flag.
On the 13th April 1901 she made her first voyage Antwerp - New York, then 5th March 1910 last voyage Antwerp - Dover - New York. On 19th April 1910 she was chartered to White Star Line and started Liverpool - Boston sailings. She made her fourteenth and last sailing on this service in September 1911 and on 21st October 1911 resumed Antwerp - Dover – New York sailings for Red Star Line.
On 13th July 1912 she transferred to Belgian registry but continued the same service. On 18th July 1914 she started her last voyage on this route and on 11th September 1914 returned to the British flag and began Liverpool – New York voyages. Chartered to White Star-Dominion Line, she was used from November 1914 on the Liverpool - Quebec - Montreal service. In December 1914 she sailed from Liverpool - Halifax - Portland.
Her last voyage on this service started January 1915 and she was then transferred to the International Navigation Co., Liverpool and renamed NORTHLAND. In March 1915 she was chartered to White Star - Dominion Line for their Liverpool - Halifax - Portland and Liverpool - Quebec - Montreal routes until becoming a troopship. In August 1916 she resumed the same services for White Star - Dominion Line until February 1919 when she was chartered to American Line and sailed Liverpool - Philadelphia for four round voyages.
On 18th August 1920 she resumed the Antwerp - Southampton – New York service as the ZEELAND under the British flag for Red Star Line, starting her last voyage on 8th October 1926. In 1927 she was sold to Atlantic Transport Line, renamed MINNESOTA and fitted with tourist class only accommodation. On 30th April 1927 she made her first voyage London – New York then on 21st September 1929 her last voyage London – New York trip.
In 1930 scrapped at Inverkeithing, Scotland

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