She was launched on 21 November 1903 by Harland and Wolff at Belfast and sailed from Liverpool on her maiden voyage to New York on 29 June 1904 with Captain Edward Smith in command.


On 23 January 1909 (commanded by J. B. Ranson), she rescued survivors of the collision in fog between the White Star Line's RMS Republic and the SS Florida off the north eastern coast of the United States, after which Republic sank.



On 30 June 1910 Baltic was in collision with the German steamer Standard. Baltic was holed above the waterline while Standard's bow was badly damaged.^[1] On 14 April 1912, Baltic sent an ice warning message to the RMS Titanic.

When World War I started in 1914, Baltic
assisted in the evacuation of Americans from Europe and hauling war
materials from the US to Britain. Passenger numbers shrank quickly with
fears of submarines, which were sighted by the RMS Baltic on
several occasions. On 1 January 1916 she arrived in New York with
$35,000,000 in gold bullion. Later in 1916 she was used in transporting
the Canadian Expeditionary Force from Halifax to Britain.



In 1923, a young Isaac Asimov emigrated with his family to the United States aboard RMS Baltic.^[5]


She was also involved in a rescue on 6 December 1929, when she assisted the sinking schooner Northern Light. Baltic became a regular at the newly created Canadian immigration terminal Pier 21 when it opened in 1928. Baltic made 18 voyages to Pier 21 including the ship's final voyage in September 1932.^[6]


On 17 February 1933, she sailed for Osaka, Japan where she was scrapped.