The Batavier Line ( nl, Batavier Lijn) was a packet service between

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

and

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

from 1830 until the 1960s. The line was established by the ''

Nederlandsche Stoomboot Maatschappij The Nederlandsche Stoomboot Maatschappij ((Netherlands Steamboat Co)), abbreviated as NSM or NSBM, was a Dutch shipping line focused on inland navigation. In the 1820s it was important for the quick introduction of steam power on the Dutch rivers ...

'' (known as NSM and in English as Netherlands Steamship Company).Greenway (1986), p.101

History

Having attempted unsuccessfully to establish services between Rotterdam–

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

and Antwerp–London, the company turned its attention to Rotterdam–London and became the first regular foreign-owned company to set up such a service into

London Port The Port of London is that part of the River Thames in England lying between Teddington Lock and the defined boundary (since 1968, a line drawn from Foulness Point in Essex via Gunfleet Old Lighthouse to Warden Point in Kent) with the North ...

. The original boat on the service was the wooden paddle steamer ''De Batavier'' (built 1829). She was replaced by an iron-hulled paddle steamer named ''Batavier'' in 1855, and this ship was replaced by another iron-hulled steamer in 1872. In 1895, NSM sold the company to Wm. H. Müller and Co. and a condition of sale was that the Batavier name would be maintained as the company name and the naming scheme for its ships. Müller ordered two new steel-hulled steamers from

Gourlay Brothers Gourlay Brothers was a marine engineering and shipbuilding company based in Dundee, Scotland. It existed between 1846 and 1908. Company history The company had its origins in the Dundee Foundry, founded in 1791. By 1820 the foundry was manufac ...

of Dundee in 1897, and . When this pair joined the fleet, the prior ''Batavier'' was renamed ''Batavier I''. In Rotterdam, the ships docked at the Willemsplein; in London, the ships originally docked near London Bridge, but in 1899 switched to Custom House and Wool Quays near

Tower Bridge Tower Bridge is a Grade I listed combined bascule and suspension bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones and engineered by John Wolfe Barry with the help of Henry Marc Brunel. It crosses the River Thames close ...

(now known as

Sugar Quay Sugar Quay is a quay alongside the Thames in the City of London, London, England. Location The quay is located on the North banks of the Thames, between Custom House, City of London, Custom House and the Tower of London.Andy SharmanBarratt and C ...

). Also beginning in 1899, the Batavier Line service between Rotterdam and London was offered daily except Sundays.van Ysselsteyn (1908), p.222 In 1902 a further pair of ship was ordered from Gourlay, and , and when ''Batavier VI'' was added in 1903, ''Batavier I'' was taken out of service. In 1909 ''Batavier II'' and ''Batavier III'' were rebuilt to a size more closely aligned with the later ships. During the early stages of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, the line continued service, but the ships were sometime subjected to being stopped by German submarines. In March 1915, ''Batavier V'' was stopped and seized as a

prize A prize is an award to be given to a person or a group of people (such as sporting teams and organizations) to recognize and reward their actions and achievements.

by German submarine , but later released by the German

prize court A prize court is a court (or even a single individual, such as an ambassador or consul) authorized to consider whether prizes have been lawfully captured, typically whether a ship has been lawfully captured or seized in time of war or under the te ...

. In May 1916, ''Batavier V'' struck a

mine Mine, mines, miners or mining may refer to: Extraction or digging * Miner, a person engaged in mining or digging *Mining, extraction of mineral resources from the ground through a mine Grammar *Mine, a first-person English possessive pronoun ...

off the British coast and was sunk with the loss of four lives. In September, ''Batavier II'' was seized by , but later released; she was sunk in 1917 by the British submarine . In June 1922 the London terminal was changed to "Batavier Pier" in

Gravesend Gravesend is a town in northwest Kent, England, situated 21 miles (35 km) east-southeast of Charing Cross (central London) on the south bank of the River Thames and opposite Tilbury in Essex. Located in the diocese of Rochester, it is th ...

. After

ended, new and were added to the line, but during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, the newer ''Batavier V'' was seized by German forces and later sunk by a British motor torpedo boat. A newer ''Batavier III'', added in 1939 to replace the 1902 ship of the same name, was also seized by the Germans and later mined. After the end of the war, only the 1921 ''Batavier II'' remained in service for the line and continued passenger service until April 1958 ending the 128 year service. Several freighters were added in the late 1950s and a freight service was continued for a time after passenger service ended.

Ships

;See list of ships operated below :

References

Bibliography

* * {{cite book , last = van Ysselsteyn , first = Hendrik Albert , title = The Port of Rotterdam , location = Rotterdam , publisher = Nijgh & Van Ditmar's Publishing Co. , year = 1908 , edition = 3d , oclc = 60983381 Companies established in 1830 Defunct shipping companies of the Netherlands 1830 establishments in the Netherlands Defunct transport companies of the Netherlands