SS Blücher was a Barbarossa-class ocean liner built by Blohm & Voss Shipbuilders, Hamburg, Germany, in 1902 for the Hamburg America Line, to sail under German flag. She measured 12,334 gross register tons and was 550 (bp) feet long by 62 feet wide. Steam quadruple-expansion engines powered twin screws. Her service speed was 16 knots. She originally carried 2,102 passengers, including 333 first class, 169 second class, and 1,600 third class, on four decks with a steel hull, and was served by a crew of 252. She was fitted with two masts and two funnels. She saw Hamburg-New York and Hamburg-South America service.