Card Art: Blijdendijk

Our final entry in this series of Eurodam art by Stephen Card features his painting of Blijdendijk. Built in 1943 at the New England Shipbuilding Corporation in Portland, Maine, for the United States Maritime Commission, it originally was named Tobias Lear and sailed as a cargo ship. The ship was 134.6 meters (642 feet) long and 17.4 meters (81 feet) at the beam.

In 1944 the Dutch government took over and renamed it Fort Orange. It was the only Liberty-class ship to have a name starting with “Fort.” Holland America Line was given the ship to manage in 1945, and the company acquired the vessel in 1947 and renamed it Blijdendijk. However, HAL only kept the ship for 10 years and sold it to Ditti Luigi Pittaluga Vapori in 1957. The ship was stranded near the Rio Grande Do Sul in 1967, and after the cargo and fittings were removed it was abandoned as a total loss.

Stein Kruse Visits Eurodam

Stein Kruse, president and CEO of Holland America Line, visited the yard today to check on the progress of Eurodam. Chief Engineer Frank de Vries sent us this photo of the group on deck.

From left to right: Andre van Schoonhoven, Blog Board member and Eurodam’s chief officer; Stan Kuppens, Blog Board member and Eurodam’s hotel manager; James Moore, building manager CCS (Carnival Corporate Shipbuilding); Henry Veringa, project manager for HAL; Ed Ramaekers, senior superintendent for HAL; Pieter Rijkaart, Blog Board member and director of newbuilds for HAL; Stein Kruse, and Bjorn Storbraten, Eurodam’s architect.

Taking Shape - New Deck 9 Pool Area Photos

Blog Board member Pieter Rijkaart just sent us these photos of the Deck 9 pool area on Eurodam. Despite the rain, the ship is coming together quickly.

Card Art: Statendam IV

This is the last in our series of paintings by Stephen Card that will adorn the stairwells of Eurodam. This piece is of Statendam IV, which was built in The Netherlands in 1956.

Statendam IV was 195.8 meters (642 feet) long and 24.6 meters (81 feet) at the beam with a draft of 8.4 meters (27.5 feet). The ship was named by HRH Princess Beatrix of The Netherlands, and and departed on Holland America’s first world cruise Jan. 7, 1958, from New York.

In 1986 Statendam IV was sold to Regency Cruise Lines and sailed Alaska, the Caribbean and the Mediterranean as Regent Star until 1995, when the ship was laid up in Piraeus, Greece, after Regent declared bankruptcy.

Latest Details on the Dedication Ceremony

Rose Abello, Vice President, Public Relations

As we reported earlier, Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands will officially name Eurodam at the dedication ceremony in Rotterdam on July 1.

The festivities will begin with a champagne reception in Rotterdam’s historic cruise terminal beginning at 2:30 p.m. Immediately following, a pierside concert will begin at 3:15. Due to special security arrangements, all guests must be seated by 3:30, and no one will be admitted after 3:30pm. The ceremony will end at approximately 5 p.m. Guests will not be allowed to board the ship.

For guests sailing on the July 2 prelude cruise, there are still a limited number of tickets available to attend the dedication ceremony for $100 per person. There also are two hotel packages available that include transfers and the ceremony. For information, contact your travel agent or Holland America Line.

Card Art: Rotterdam IV

In our continuing series of Eurodam art by Stephen Card, today we’re featuring his painting of Rotterdam IV. The fourth version of the line’s flagship was built in 1908 at Harlan & Wolff Ltd. in Belfast, Ireland. Rotterdam IV was 203.53 meters (667 feet) long with a beam of 23.47 meters (77 feet), and a draft of 10 meters (32.8 feet). Its service speed was 16.5 knots.

Rotterdam IV carried 32 first-class, 555 second-class and 2,232 third-class passengers (of which 1,064 were housed in collapsible cabins). The ship was the largest in the North Atlantic fleet until 1929 when Statendam was introduced, and was the first liner to have a glass-enclosed promenade deck for the use of first-class passengers. The ship was sold for scrap in 1939.

The Art of Stephen Card

This week we are featuring the maritime art of Stephen Card, a longtime contributor to Holland America Line’s shipboard art galleries. Card’s maritime oil paintings usually are featured in the forward stairwells on Holland America ships. This week we will preview four pieces that will be installed on Eurodam, starting with a painting of Eurodam.

Anchors Aweigh

Eurodam’s anchor is in place. First it was put on a barge and floated up alongside the ship. Then it was connected to the anchor chain while still laying on the barge before being hoisted up into position.

Check out our previous post on the anchor so you can see how big it really is.

Here’s to the Queen!

Holland America Line President and CEO Stein Kruse offers a champagne toast to Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of The Netherlands Tuesday at a press conference at the Seatrade Convention in Miami beach. Kruse had just announced that the queen would serve as godmother to Eurodam at the July 1 ceremony in Rotterdam.

Photo courtesy Andy Newman.

It’s Showtime … Nearly!

Chief Officer Andre van Schoonhoven just sent us this updated image of the show lounge. The photo was taken from the raised seating area on Deck 3 looking down into the lounge. Construction is 60 percent complete. Though not really visible in the photo, most of the wall and ceiling are in, and installation of most of the stage equipment, such as lifts and turntables, is nearly complete.