MBT Cargo-pass. ship ds ms Westerdam (1939/1946) - HAL - Construction Drawing Scale 1 : 200 (10.10.009/A)

The M.S. Westerdam was a cargo ship of the Holland America Line that also offered space for 134 passengers. During the German attack on the Netherlands in 1940, the Westerdam was under construction at the Schiedam shipyard Wilton-Fijenoord.

The Westerdam was launched on 27 July 1940. On 27 August 1942, the ship was damaged and sank during an Allied bombing raid. The Westerdam was seized by the Germans and was intended to block the port of Rotterdam at the end of the Second World War.

On 9 September 1944, the National Assault Squads received orders from Allied High Command to sink these blockade ships before they could block the Nieuwe Waterweg or the Nieuwe Maas. On 11 September, the Westerdam was scuttled at the Wilhelminakade by opening the outboard appendages.

The Westerdam could be refloated by the Germans and was moored at the Merwehaven. After several failed attempts, the Westerdam was finally sunk with a limpet mine on the night of 16 to 17 January 1945. Subsequently, the same men also sank a barge and a floating crane, the Titan, in the Dokhaven.

After the war, the Westerdam was refloated and entered service in 1946. In 1964, the ship was laid up in Rotterdam and in 1965 sold for scrap to Compañía Española de Demolición Naval in Alicante, Spain.

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