SS Zeeland The SS Zeeland was a British and Belgian ocean liner first launched in 1901. Four years later, like thousands of other immigrants, Beryl Lassin made the journey from Russia to Antwerp, where he boarded this ship, and finally landed at Ellis Island. Traveling in steerage, the cheapest fare, he ate poor meals and suffered from overcrowding and poor sanitation. Photograph courtesy of the Peabody Essex Museum, image no. 204962