was in return slightly slower: its machines not having been modified. In the case of the Adriatic, it was decided to give her a size similar to the Baltic (her tonnage nevertheless surpassing that of the Baltic by a few hundred tons), but she was equipped significantly more powerful machines in order to allow her to maintain a better speed. Her name, in reference to the Adriatic Sea, was also given to her in reference to a previous liner of the same name which served the company for almost thirty years at the end of the previous century. She was launched on 20 September 1906, the same day as the Cunard Line's . She was then completed in dry dock and delivered to her company on 25 April 1907, before sailing to Liverpool for her maiden voyage. Early career When the Adriatic entered service, she was celebrated by the White Star Line as "the largest ship in the world" (although the Kaiserin Auguste Victoria overtook her by only 40 tons), and the company organized a departure with great fanfare for her maiden voyage from Liverpool to New York on 8 May 1907, arriving in New York on 16 May 1907 with 2,502 passengers onboard (365 first class, 335 second class and 1,802 third class). The liner sails under the command of Captain Edward Smith, who transferred from the Baltic. After her maiden voyage, she was transferred to the Southampton – New York route, arriving in Southampton to a very warm welcome on 30 May 1907, and inaugurating White Star's Southampton service on 5 June 1907. She was the first White Star liner to use Southampton's newly-built dock, named the White Star Dock. (In 1922 it was renamed the Ocean Dock.) This port, hitherto little frequented by British companies, was indeed chosen to serve as the base for the new express service desired by White Star, in view of the arrival of its Olympic-class liners. It also had the advantage of allowing a French stopover in Cherbourg. The Adriatic was thus assigned to this new service alongside the Oceanic, the Teutonic and the Majestic. At the same time, Liverpool becomes a secondary port of departure for services provided by the Baltic, the Cedric, the Celtic, and the Arabic. The Adriatic ran the Southampton route until 1911 when replaced her. Adriatic then returned to the Liverpool route. During this service, the Adriatic