Zuiderdam
The first vessel with the "Zuider" prefix launched in 1912 as the cargo ship Zuiderdijk ("dijk" or "dyk" was the suffix used for cargo vessels; "dam" is used for passenger ships). At 5,211 tons, she sailed between Rotterdam and Savannah, Georgia, for Holland America through 1922, with a brief stint during World War I as a transport.
In 1941, the 12,150-ton Zuiderdam was launched from a shipyard in Rotterdam for outfitting. However, a month later the ship was damaged during a British air raid and capsized. The hull was raised and later sunk by the Germans to block the port of Rotterdam to Allied access. After World War II, the Zuiderdam was again raised, yet the ship never saw completion.
