ss "brielle" was launched on 31 december 1920 at the new waterway shipyard in schiedam in the netherlands. the cargo ship was long (pp) and was abeam. the 6,908-gross-register-ton ship was powered by a single triple-expansion steam engine that could move it at speeds of up to . after its completion in april 1921, it was delivered to the royal netherlands steamship company ( or "knsm"). the ship was operated by "verenigde nederlandsche scheepvaartmaatschappij" (vns), founded by a dutch consortium (that included knsm) after the end of world war i. the ship was eventually absorbed into the royal netherlands steamship company, one of the consortium members.