RMS Empress of Japan ( 1930 ) RMS " Empress of Japan " was an ocean liner built in 1929 - 1930 by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company at Govan on the Clyde in Scotland for Canadian Pacific Steamships ( CP ) . This ship was the second of two CP vessels to be named " Empress of Japan " - regularly traversed the trans - Pacific route between the west coast of Canada and the Far East until 1942 . In 1942 , she was renamed RMS " Empress of Scotland - the second of two CP vessels to be named " Empress of Scotland . " In 1957 , the Hamburg Atlantic Line purchased the ship and re - named her SS " Hanseatic . Concept and construction . By the 1920s the Canadian Pacific conglomerate had established a sea / rail connection between Europe and the Far East . The company ' s steamships would carry passengers from Great Britain to Canada , the same company ' s railroad carried passengers across the North American continent to Vancouver , where passengers boarded another Canadian Pacific ship that would carry them across the Pacific to Asia . This was at the time the fastest way to reach the Far East from Europe . In the late 1920s Canadian Pacific decided to modernize their Pacific and Atlantic fleets , with the aim of reducing the journey time between Europe and the Far East by two days . The new liner intended for the transpacific service was envisioned at approximately 25 , 000 gross register tons , in length and capable of carrying 1173 passengers in four classes . Construction of the vessel was awarded to Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company at Govan near Glasgow in Scotland . She was launched on 17 December 1929 and named " Empress of Japan " . Originally Canadian Pacific had planned on constructing a sister ship for her for the Pacific service , but due to the Great Depression the second ship was left unrealized . Instead , the company decided to concentrate their resources on the " Empress of Britain " , a larger version of the " Empress of Japan " under construction for their trans - Atlantic service . Due to the similarity in design of the two new Empresses , they were essentially interchangeable , despite the " Empress of Britain " being approximately larger than the " Empress of Japan " . Service history . 1930 — 1942 : " Empress of Japan " . The " Empress of Japan " carried out her sea trial successfully in May 1930 , achieving a top speed of 23 knots ; and on 8 June 1930 , she was delivered to Vancouver for service on the trans - Pacific route . In this period , she was the fastest ocean liner on the $ 3 . She would continue sailing the Vancouver - Yokohama - Kobe - Shanghai - Hong Kong route for the rest of the decade . Amongst her celebrity passengers were a number of American baseball all - stars , including Babe Ruth , who sailed aboard the " Empress of Japan " in October 1934 en route to Japan . The outbreak of war in Europe caused the " Empress of Japan " to be re - fitted for wartime service . Following the Japanese attacks on the Empire outposts in the Far East in December 1941 , the name of the ship needed to be changed . In 1942 , she was renamed the " Empress of Scotland " . 1942 — 1957 : " Empress of Scotland " . Following the end of World War II , the " Empress of Scotland " was needed to meet the newly developing demands for trans - Atlantic passenger service . In the period between 1948 and 1950 , she was rebuilt at Fairfield in Glasgow . These modifications were necessary to better meet weather conditions on the colder Atlantic route . This extensive re - fitting included a radical reconfiguration of her cabins from the original four classes to just two — first and tourist . The Canadian Pacific " Empress " completed her last trans - Atlantic crossing in 1957 ; and she was temporarily laid up in Belfast until being sold . 1958 — 1966 : " Hanseatic " . Following her sale to Hamburg Atlantic Line in 1958 , the ship was radically rebuilt to meet the expanding market for trans - Atlantic passenger service . The ship ' s superstructure and funnels were rebuilt and her passenger accommodations were re - configured . The vessel emerged as the SS " Hanseatic " . The renamed and re - flagged ship was designed to carry as many 1350 passengers in comfortable luxury on the Hamburg - New York route . On 8 September 1966 , the ship caught fire at New York . The fire developed in the engine room and gutted five decks .