SS Slamat (or "DSS Slamat", with DSS standing for dubbelschroefstoomschip, "twin-screw steamship") was a Dutch ocean liner of the Rotterdam-based Koninklijke Rotterdamsche Lloyd line. Although she was a turbine steamship, she tended not to be referred to as "TSS". She was built in Vlissingen in the Netherlands in 1924 for liner service between Rotterdam and the Dutch East Indies. In 1940 she was converted into a troop ship. In 1941 she was sunk with great loss of life in the Battle of Greece.
Building and peacetime service
Koninklijke Maatschappij De Schelde built Slamat in Vlissingen on the River Scheldt, completing her in 1924. Her boilers had oil-burning furnaces, and her engines were steam turbines that drove her twin screws via double reduction gearing. She was equipped with submarine signalling apparatus, which in the 1920s was seen as an alternative to radio. She also had wireless direction finding equipment.
Slamat was built for Koninklijke Rotterdamsche Lloyd (KRL or "Royal Dutch Lloyd") and managed by Willem Ruys en Zonen. Willem Ruys ran KRL and the two companies were part of the same group. KRL ships operated passenger and cargo services between Rotterdam and the Dutch East Indies via Southampton, Marseille and the Suez Canal. Slamat was KRL's last major steam turbine passenger liner before it started introducing motor ships: Indrapoera in 1925, Sibajak in 1927 and the larger and swifter Baloeran and Dempo in 1929.
In 1931 Slamat was refitted and lengthened by , which slightly increased each of her tonnages. Her speed was increased to .
In peacetime Slamat carried KRL's livery of dove-grey hull, white superstructure and black funnels.
War service
When the Second World War began the Netherlands was neutral. In mid-October 1939 Slamat left Rotterdam for the East Indies, calling at Lisbon, Cape Verde, Cape Town, Mauritius, Sabang and Singapore before reaching Batavia, capital of the Dutch East Indies, on 30 November. On 1 December she left Batavia for Italy, which was also still neutral. She called at Sabang, Aden and Port Said before arriving on 21 December in Genoa, where she spent Christmas 1939 and New Year 1940. She left Genoa on 10 January for the East Indies, calling at Suez, Aden and Sabang before reaching Batavia on 1 February.
In May 1940 Germany conquered the Netherlands in one week and the Dutch monarchy and government evacuated to London. Germany captured KRL's managing director Willem Ruys, and the company transferred the registration of its ships including Slamat from Rotterdam to Batavia.
On 6 July KRL's Indrapoera left Batavia for Surabaya in eastern Java, and on the 19th Slamat followed her. Then the two liners sailed to the Philippines, which were then neutral. Indrapoera sailed ahead, leaving Surabaya on 26 July and reaching Manila on the 31st. Slamat followed three days behind her, reaching Manila on 3 August. By then Indrapoera had already left for Australia, and the next day Slamat followed. Each liner called at Thursday Island, Queensland before reaching Sydney Harbour, Indrapoera on 13 August and Slamat on the 17th. There they joined two other Dutch ocean liners; Stoomvaart-Maatschappij Nederland's Christiaan Huygens and Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij's Nieuw Holland, which between them embarked 4,315 Australian troops. On 12 September the Dutch ships left Sydney for Fremantle in Western Australia, where they formed Convoy US 5, which left Fremantle on 22 September and reached Suez on 12 October. Indrapoera and Slamat continued through the Suez Canal, called at Port Said and on 17 October reached Haifa in Palestine.
In September 1940 Italy invaded Egypt, where British and Empire forces now needed reinforcement from the Dominions and Empire. From now on a number of Dutch troop ships concentrated on bringing British Empire troops across the Indian Ocean to the Near East. Indrapoera and Slamat left Haifa on 21 October, reached Port Said the next day, and then passed through the Suez Canal. For the next six months the two KRL ships operated in the Indian Ocean, bringing British Empire troops from India and Ceylon to Egypt.
Indrapoera and Slamat spent Christmas 1940 and New Year 1941 in Bombay. On 14 January 1941 they reached Colombo to take part in Convoy US 8 to Suez. This was a huge troop movement: seven British and five Dutch troop ships, accompanied by two British cargo ships. The other Dutch ships were Christiaan Huygens, SMN's Johan de Witt and KPM's Nieuw Zeeland. Among the British ships was Shaw, Savill & Albion Line's flagship , which at was the largest liner in the Indian Ocean. US 8 left Colombo on 16 January and reached Suez on the 28th.