RMS Mauretania Mauretania, transatlantic passenger liner of the Cunard Line, called the “Grand Old Lady of the Atlantic.†It was launched in 1906 and made its maiden voyage in 1907; thereafter, it held the Atlantic Blue Riband for speed until 1929, challenged only by its sister ship, the Lusitania (sunk by a German submarine on May 7, 1915). During World War I the Mauretania worked as a transport and hospital ship. During its long career the ship made 269 double crossings of the Atlantic, exclusive of war work. Its last crossing was made in 1934, and it was broken up in 1935.