SS Minnewaska was a 21,716-ton ocean liner in the service of the Atlantic Transport Line and the Red Star Line from 1923–1933
She was the fourth ship of the Atlantic Transport Line to carry the name "Minnewaska". The third Minnewaska had been launched in 1908 and sailed the London to New York City route until 1915 when she was requisitioned by the British Army with disastrous consequences. In 1916, she struck a mine in Souda Bay, Crete, in the Mediterranean sea. With 1,800 troops on board and badly damaged, she was beached and written off as a total loss. Her replacement, the fourth SS Minnewaska, in 1923, had accommodation for 369 first class passengers, but was primarily a cargo carrier, the largest afloat at 21,716 tons. She cost the Atlantic Transport Line £1,175,000. SS Minnewaska and her sister ship SS Minnetonka were the largest ships to use London Docks prior to the P.& O. "Strath" ships.
Minnewaska was laid down at the Harland & Wolff Ltd, shipyard, Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1923 and completed on 25 August 1923.[1] She began her maiden voyage from London to New York on 1 September 1923 under the control of Captain T. F. Gates. In 1924, Captain Gates was transferred to the Minnetonka and the Minnewaska was under the command of Captain F. H. Claret.