[1][2] Hamburg Atlantic Line acquired their first ship in January 1958 when they purchased the 1930-built RMS Empress of Scotland from Canadian Pacific Steamships.

After a good year in the transatlantic service in 1959, passenger numbers begun to drop due to competition from air traffic.

There were no casualties, but after the hulk of the ship was towed back to Germany, she was deemed too expensive to repair and was sent to scrappers.

[2] The former Shalom, that had been renamed TS Hanseatic, set on a crossing from Hamburg to New York on 16 December 1967 with invited guests on board.

[6] In 1968 the German Atlantic Line decided to abandon transatlantic service, concentrating solely on cruising.

Due to the raising expenses the company was forced to seek out a joint venture with Hapag-Lloyd, but nothing came of this.

[1] By September 1973 the company's debts were estimated at 50-70 million DM, so when Home Lines lost their SS Homeric and expressed interest in buying the Hanseatic as a replacement, German Atlantic had no choice but to sell the ship or face bankruptcy.

[3][6] On the same date the Hamburg was in turn renamed Hanseatic,[6][7] but at the same time plans were being drawn to sell her to Hapag-Lloyd.

The Hanseatic was laid up and eventually sold to the Black Sea Shipping Company of the Soviet Union (via an American intermediary) in 1974, becoming their TS Maxim Gorkiy.

[11] The fourth Hanseatic entered service on 27 March 1993 when she set on a cruise from Hamburg to Sevilla.