[1] AG Weser built her sister ship in Bremen, launching her as William O'Swald on 30 March 1914.

[4] Between them the three engines gave her a speed of 17 knots (31 km/h)[5] In the First World War the Imperial German Navy sank numerous neutral ships in error, including two Dutch passenger liners.

[7] Tubantia's sinking caused an international outcry, so The German government persuaded HAPAG to sell JH Burchard to KHL to replace her.

[1] The German Navy also sank a number of Koninklijke Rotterdamsche Lloyd (KRL) cargo ships: Palembang and Kediri in 1916[8][9] and Bandoeng and Jacatra in 1917.

[10][11] HAPAG sold William O'Swald to KRL, with the delivery deferred until after the war like her sister ship.

KHL put a Dutch crew on Limburgia, commanded by a German captain from JC Tecklenborg, to take her to the Netherlands.

The Royal Navy stationed a destroyer off the mouth of the Weser to prevent her from leaving in Dutch hands.

[13] Another states that W. Averell Harriman's United American Lines (UAL) bought the two ships from KHL and KRL.

[1][2] UAL renamed Limburgia as Reliance, had Blohm & Voss in Hamburg refit her[1] as a three-class ship.

Initially UAL registered Reliance in the USA, but in 1923 she was re-registered in Panama to circumvent prohibition in the United States.

[16] In December 1934 Reliance's first class berths were increased to 497,[3] and her hull was repainted white to suit her cruising role.