The tradition of naming ships at their launching ceremonies was broken by the 24,290-ton Statendam, ordered by the Holland America Line in the early 1950s.

The liner was built in a big graving dock at Schiedam instead of on a slipway, and she was floated out with tug assistance.

She was not named until the official trials took place in the North Sea, seven months after the floating-out.

Statendam, built to succeed the liner Veendam, was the company's second-biggest ship. She was 587ft long, with a beam of more than 78ft and her two turbines gave a service speed of 20 knots.

On February 8, 1957, Statendam called at Southampton on her maiden voyage, using 107 berth in the Western Docks, before leaving for New York and a rough transatlantic crossing in heavy seas.

She arrived in America and found herself caught up in an industrial dispute which meant the master, Captain Cornelis Haagmans, needed all his seafaring skills to bring the vessel alongside without tugs or dock pilot help.

After that passage Statendam undertook a series of Caribbean voyages and later there were cruises from Southampton as well.

In 1981 the ship was sold to a group of US investors and given the name of Rhapsody and then five years later she was acquired by a Greek shipping group which renamed her Regent Star.

When her latest owners folded because of financial difficulties Regent Star was anchored in Eleusis Bay in Greece in November 1995 where she ended her career.