Holland America Line is changing the name of its newbuild from Ryndam to Rotterdam and designating it the new flagship of the fleet.

The seventh ship to bear the name, Rotterdam will be delivered in July next year, pushed back slightly from its original delivery of May due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The move comes after the current Rotterdam was sold to Fred. Olsen.

When the new Rotterdam is delivered from Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard in Italy, it will spend the summer exploring Northern Europe and the Baltic on roundtrip cruises from Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

“The first ship for Holland America Line was the original Rotterdam, the company was headquartered in the city of Rotterdam for many years, and the name has been a hallmark throughout our history since 1872 - so clearly the name is powerful and symbolic,” said Gus Antorcha, Holland America Line president.

“With the current Rotterdam leaving the company, we knew we had a unique opportunity to embrace the name as our new flagship and carry on the tradition of having a Rotterdam in our fleet.

“Seven is a lucky number, and we know she’s going to bring a lot of joy to our guests as she travels across the globe.”

The third in the Pinnacle Class series, Rotterdam will carry 2,668 guests, measure 99,500 tons and feature highly successful amenities and innovations introduced with her sister ships,

Rotterdam is the 17th ship constructed for Holland America Line by Italian shipyard Fincantieri, which most recently built Nieuw Statendam.

Naming details have not been finalised and will be announced later.

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Holland America Line’s first ship was Rotterdam, which sailed its maiden voyage from the Netherlands to New York October 15th, 1872, and led to the founding of the company on April 18th, 1873.

Rotterdam II was built in 1878 for British Ship Owners Co. and purchased by Holland America Line in 1886.

Rotterdam III came along in 1897 and was with the company until 1906.

The fourth Rotterdam joined the fleet in 1908 and also served as a troop carrier when World War I ended.

Following the war it made regular cruises from New York to the Mediterranean.

Rotterdam V, also known as the Grande Dame, set sail in 1959 and began sailing transatlantic crossings with two classes of service.

It later converted to a one-class ship in 1969.

She sailed with Holland America Line for 38 years until 1997, including several Grand World Voyages, and currently is a hotel and museum in the city of Rotterdam.

Rotterdam VI, the most recent to cruise for Holland America Line, was introduced in 1997 and the first ship in the R Class.