MS Selandia was the world's first ocean-going diesel motor ship.

'Selandia' is the Latin name for the Danish island of Sjælland. The original MS Selandia (1912) was ordered by the Danish trading firm East Asiatic Company

East Asiatic Company

The East Asiatic Company was founded by Hans Niels Andersen in Copenhagen in 1897. Service which would eventually include both passenger and freight lines between the Danish capital, Bangkok and the far east was the initial objective. Routes to include the Baltic and Black Seas were...

 for service between Scandinavia

Scandinavia

Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...

, Genoa, Italy, and Bangkok, Thailand. She was built at Burmeister & Wain

Burmeister & Wain

Burmeister & Wain was a large established Danish shipyard and leading diesel engine producer headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded by two Danes and an Englishman, its earliest roots stretch back to 1846. Over its 150-year history, it grew successfully into a strong company through the end...

 Shipyard

Shipyard

Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...

 in Copenhagen

Copenhagen

Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...

, Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

, and launched on 4 November 1911 before embarking on its maiden journey from Copenhagen to Bangkok on 22 February 1912. She was the world's first ocean-going diesel-powered ship – previous vessel were steam-powered. MS Selandia didn't have a funnel; instead smoke from her engines escaped through the front mast.

Built for cargo and passenger carriage, Selandia had "very ample and rather luxurious" cabins for 20 first class passengers, single-berth cabins of "exceptional size, with toilet and bath for every two cabins, and an extra feature is the servants' rooms, arranged in connection with private cabins."

She was sold to Panama in 1936 and renamed Norseman, and Tornator in 1940.

A second ship was built in 1938 and scrapped in 1962. The third Selandia, built in 1972, was sold to USA in 1994 and renamed USNS Gilliland in 1998.

The East Asiatic Company (EAC) became T & E, thereafter TESMA, and finally, as of 2007, EMS. Today the tradition continues, with a vessel named Selandia, owned/operated by EMS.