The Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland ("Netherlands Steamship Company") or SMN, also known as the Netherland Line or Nederland Line, was a Dutch shipping line that operated from 1870 until 1970, when it merged with several other companies to form what would become Royal Nedlloyd

Nedlloyd

Nedlloyd was a Dutch shipping company, formed in 1970 as the Nederlandsche Scheepvaart Unie in a merger of several shipping lines:*Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland *Koninklijke Rotterdamsche Lloyd...

. (Nedlloyd itself later merged with P&O

Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company

The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, which is usually known as P&O, is a British shipping and logistics company which dated from the early 19th century. Following its sale in March 2006 to Dubai Ports World for £3.9 billion, it became a subsidiary of DP World; however, the P&O...

 to become P&O Nedlloyd

P&O Nedlloyd

P&O Nedlloyd Container Line Limited was an Anglo-Dutch worldwide ocean-going container shipping line, with dual headquarters in London and Rotterdam. The company was formed in 1997 by the merger of the container-shipping interests of the leading Dutch transportation company Royal Nedlloyd and the...

, now a part of Maersk.) The company's motto, Semper Mare Navigandum ("Always sail the seas"), conveniently fits the same initials.

Foundation

The SMN was founded on May 13th, 1870 in Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

 for the trade between North Western Europe

North-West Europe

North-West Europe is a term that refers to a northern area of Western Europe, although the exact area or countries it comprises varies.-Geographic definition:...

 and the former Dutch East Indies

Dutch East Indies

The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....

 (modern Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

) via the newly-opened Suez Canal

Suez Canal

The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...

. One of the founders was Prince Hendrik

Hendrik of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Duke Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin , later Prince Henry of the Netherlands, was prince consort of the Netherlands as the husband of Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands...

, nicknamed "The Seafarer".

Early years

Initially all transport to and from the East Indies was by mail boat. These vessels carried passengers, mail and some freight, and a fast and regular service was required. Passengers from or for Holland often went by train to and from Naples

Naples

Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...

, Marseilles or Genoa

Genoa

Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

 in order to keep the travelling time as short as possible.

In the early days the company profited from shipping goods produced by the government-run plantations and industries in the East Indies, from Bangka

Bangka

Bangka can refer to:* Bangka Island, an island of Indonesia* Bangka Regency, Indonesia* Bangka Strait, a strait of Indonesia* Bangka language, spoken in Indonesia* Tagalog: bangka, an outrigger canoe* Wanhua District, Taipei City...

 tin to tobacco

Tobacco

Tobacco is an agricultural product processed from the leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. It can be consumed, used as a pesticide and, in the form of nicotine tartrate, used in some medicines...

 and copra

Copra

Copra is the dried meat, or kernel, of the coconut. Coconut oil extracted from it has made copra an important agricultural commodity for many coconut-producing countries. It also yields coconut cake which is mainly used as feed for livestock.-Production:...

. From Europe came manufactured goods, factory equipment and railroad materials.

From 1870 to 1879 the company used its own warehouses in Den Helder

Den Helder

Den Helder is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Den Helder occupies the northernmost point of the North Holland peninsula...

 (Nieuwediep) for loading and unloading. With the 1876 opening of the Noordzeekanaal (North Sea Canal) connecting Amsterdam directly to the North Sea an easier route to its home base became available. The Oostelijke Handelskade (Eastern Trade dock, 1883–1910) and the Java and Sumatra docks became the center of the SMN in The Netherlands. In Europe ships called regularly at Amsterdam, Southampton

Southampton

Southampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...

 and Genoa

Genoa

Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

. In the Dutch East Indies ships plied mainly to the ports on the northern coast of the island of Java

Java

Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...

, e.g. Jakarta

Jakarta

Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...

 (then known as Batavia), Surabaya

Surabaya

Surabaya is Indonesia's second-largest city with a population of over 2.7 million , and the capital of the province of East Java...

 and Tanjung Priok

Tanjung Priok

Tanjung Priok is a subdistrict of North Jakarta, Jakarta, Indonesia. It hosts the western part of the city's main harbour, the Port of Tanjung Priok...

. Coal was regularly taken at Valetta, Port Said

Port Said

Port Said is a city that lies in north east Egypt extending about 30 km along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal, with an approximate population of 603,787...

, Aden

Aden

Aden is a seaport city in Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea , some 170 kilometres east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000. Aden's ancient, natural harbour lies in the crater of an extinct volcano which now forms a peninsula, joined to the mainland by a...

, Colombo

Colombo

Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...

 and Sabang

Sabang

Sabang is a city consisting of several islands in Aceh, Indonesia. The metropolitan area is located on Weh Island, 17 km north of Banda Aceh. The city covers an area of 118 square kilometres and according to the 2000 census had a population of 23,654 people...

.

In the early decades of the 20th century the company opened new routes operating across the Pacific Ocean

Pacific Ocean

The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...

 between Java and the American West Coast, and, via the Panama Canal

Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...

, between Java and New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

.

After the mail boats came more specialised vessels: freighters (some with passenger accommodation) and the widely known passenger liners

Ocean liner

An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...

, including famous ships such as (launched 1925), Christiaan Huygens (1927), (1929), and (1938).

World War II and Post-War activities

During the Second World War many of the company's ships were commandeered to support the Allied military effort, and a number were lost to enemy action.

Following the birth of the State of Indonesia

Indonesia

Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...

 in 1949, and the subsequent loosening of the old colonial ties, trade with the former colonies declined (some trade with Indonesia remained possible until 1960; thereafter Dutch vessels were no longer allowed to ply in Indonesian waters). In dire need of new business, the company intensified development of its other routes – linking Holland, South Africa, North and South America, India and the Far East – and also built up its chartering business.

In addition to its freight and passenger services, SMN also actively took part in other transport ventures – for example, Martin Air Charter (now Martinair

Martinair

For the American cargo airline, see Martinaire.Martinair Holland N.V., operating as Martinair, is an airline headquartered in the TransPort Building on the grounds of Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands. It operates cargo services to over 50 destinations worldwide. Services...

), the specialized LNG tanker Antilla Cape, Container Terminal Amsterdam (CTA) and van Swieten Trucking. In the 1960s SMN acquired Hollandsche Stoomboot Maatschappij with regular services to England and West Africa.

Starting in the late 1950s, the advent of mass air travel spelled the end of the ocean liners. The company's passenger routes were closed and the ships sold, leaving the company to concentrate on freight, which from the 1970s onwards increasingly meant container ship

Container ship

Container ships are cargo ships that carry all of their load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. They form a common means of commercial intermodal freight transport.-History:...

s.

Collaborations and mergers

Hailing from Amsterdam, SMN always enjoyed friendly competition and rivalry with Rotterdam shipping company Rotterdamsche Lloyd (KRL), especially on the East Indies route. In 1963 SMN and KRL jointly founded Nedlloyd Lines (NLL). From 1968 the SMN also closely cooperated with KJCPL–RIL (Royal InterOcean Lines) of Amsterdam and Hong Kong.

This cooperation amongst friendly Dutch shipowners eventually resulted in a full merger. On January 20th, 1970, the SMN joined with three other companies to form the Nederlandsche Scheepvaart Unie (NSU) and ceased to exist as a separate entity, having just failed to reach its 100th anniversary. The NSU partners were:

• Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland (SMN)
• Koninklijke Rotterdamsche Lloyd (KRL)
• Koninklijke Java-China-Paketvaart-Lijnen (KJCPL)
• Vereenigde Nederlandsche Scheepvaartmaatschappij (VNS)

Later on NSU became Nedlloyd

Nedlloyd

Nedlloyd was a Dutch shipping company, formed in 1970 as the Nederlandsche Scheepvaart Unie in a merger of several shipping lines:*Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland *Koninklijke Rotterdamsche Lloyd...

, and in 1977 the name changed to Koninklijke Nedlloyd ("Royal Nedlloyd"). In 1981 the Koninklijke Nederlandsche Stoomboot-Maatschappij (KNSM) completed the group.

In 1996, Koninklijke Nedlloyd merged its container shipping interests with the British company P&O

Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company

The Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, which is usually known as P&O, is a British shipping and logistics company which dated from the early 19th century. Following its sale in March 2006 to Dubai Ports World for £3.9 billion, it became a subsidiary of DP World; however, the P&O...

 to become, as P&O Nedlloyd

P&O Nedlloyd

P&O Nedlloyd Container Line Limited was an Anglo-Dutch worldwide ocean-going container shipping line, with dual headquarters in London and Rotterdam. The company was formed in 1997 by the merger of the container-shipping interests of the leading Dutch transportation company Royal Nedlloyd and the...

, a major player in the worldwide container trade. In 2005 A.P. Moller-Maersk Group

A.P. Moller-Maersk Group

A.P. Moller – Maersk Group , also known as Maersk , is a Danish business conglomerate. A.P. Moller – Maersk Group has activities in a variety of business sectors, primarily within the transportation and energy sectors. It is the largest container ship operator and supply vessel operator in the...

 (Maersk) from Denmark acquired P&O Nedlloyd and the newly formed Maersk Line subsequently became the world’s largest container shipping line.

Offices

SMN headquartered at the IJgracht in Amsterdam, later at the Scheepvaarthuis (Shipping House) together with other shipping companies. Employees arriving by bicycle came through the side entrance and used the famous Paternoster elevators to reach their floors. A monumental staircase led directly to the directors' floor.

The company also maintained offices in Jakarta.

Heritage

The history and heritage of the Stoomboot Maatschappij 'Nederland' and other Dutch shipping companies is preserved at the Amsterdam and Rotterdam maritime museums.

Vessels

The Netherland Line's first vessel, SS Willem II, was launched in 1871. Its last under that flag were the Neder "L-class" vessels Neder Linge and Neder Lek, launched in 1967/68. The following is a selected list of the vessels operated by the company throughout its 100-year history. Tonnages are approximate.

• Bali
• Balong
• Banda
• Banggai
• Batjan
• Batu
• Bawean
• Bengkalis
• Boissevain
• Borneo
• Celebes
• Christiaan Huygens (liner, 16,000 tons, launched 1927, destroyed by mine 1945)
• Johan de Witt (liner, 19,000 tons, launched 1929, sold and renamed Lakonia 1963, destroyed by fire 1963)
• Karakorum
• Karimata
• Karimun
• Marnix van Sint Aldegonde (liner, 19,000 tons, launched 1930, sunk by torpedo 1945)
• Neder Ebro
• Neder Eems
• Neder Lek (freighter, 10,000 tons, launched 1968)
• Neder Linge (freighter, 10,000 tons, launched 1967)
• Neder Rhone
• Neder Rijn
• Neder Waal
• Neder Weser
• Nieuw Holland
• Oranje (liner, 20,000 tons, launched 1938, sold and renamed Angelina Lauro 1964, destroyed by fire 1979) (liner launched 1925, caught fire at builders, another fire ended her career)
• Poelau Laut
• Radja
• Raki
• Roepat
• Rondo
• Rotti