Stoomvaart Maatschappij Zeeland (known as SMZ) was a Dutch

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 ferry operator that ran services from Hook of Holland to Harwich

Harwich

Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...

 between 1875 and 1989.

History

The Stoomvaart Maatschappij Zeeland was founded in 1875.

After World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

 services were moved to the Hook of Holland.

In 1968 the SMZ and Sealink

Sealink

Sealink was a ferry company based in the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1984, operating services to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Channel Islands, Isle of Wight and Ireland....

 services were fully amalgamated

Consolidation (business)

Consolidation or amalgamation is the act of merging many things into one. In business, it often refers to the mergers and acquisitions of many smaller companies into much larger ones. In the context of financial accounting, consolidation refers to the aggregation of financial statements of a group...

.

In 1989 Swedish

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 ferry operator Stena Line

Stena Line

Stena Line is one of the world's largest ferry operators, with ferry services serving Scotland, Sweden, Northern Ireland, Denmark, Norway, England, Wales, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland. Stena Line is a major unit of Stena AB, itself a part of the Stena Sphere, a grouping of Stena AB,...

 acquired SMZ. The following year Stena Line

Stena Line

Stena Line is one of the world's largest ferry operators, with ferry services serving Scotland, Sweden, Northern Ireland, Denmark, Norway, England, Wales, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland. Stena Line is a major unit of Stena AB, itself a part of the Stena Sphere, a grouping of Stena AB,...

 also acquired SMZ's UK partner Sealink

Sealink

Sealink was a ferry company based in the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1984, operating services to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Channel Islands, Isle of Wight and Ireland....

. The Harwich

Harwich

Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...

 operations of Sealink

Sealink

Sealink was a ferry company based in the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1984, operating services to France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Channel Islands, Isle of Wight and Ireland....

 were transferred to Stena Line BV

Stena Line Holland BV

Stena Line Holland BV is a subsidiary of Stena Line that operates ferry routes between Harwich and Killingholme on the east coast of England and Hoek van Holland and Europort in the Netherlands. The head office is in Hoek van Holland in the Netherlands...

Passenger ships

• SS Prinses Elisabeth (built 1877)
• SS Prinses Marie (built 1878)
• MS Prinses Beatrix (built 1939)
• MS Koningin Emma (built 1939)
• MS Koningin Wilhelmina (built 1960) - sold to Ventouris Ferries
  Ventouris Ferries
  Ventouris Ferries is a Greek company that operates ferry services from Italy to Greece and Albania.-Routes:Ventouris Ferries operates two routes across the Adriatic Sea.*Bari - Durres*Bari - Corfu - Igoumenitsa-Fleet:...
  
   for further service in Greece
  Greece
  Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
  
  

Car ferries

• MS Koningin Juliana (built 1968) - sold to Moby Lines
  Moby Lines
  Moby Lines is an Italian shipping company that operates ferries and cruiseferries between the Italian or French mainland and the islands of Elba, Sardinia and Corsica. The company was founded in 1959 under the name Navigazione Arcipelago Maddalenino .In 2006 Moby Lines purchased Lloyd Sardegna...
  
  
• MS Zeeland (built 1972) - Chartered 1984 - 1986 from Larvik Line
• MS Prinses Beatrix
  MV Duc de Normandie
  The Wisteria is a passenger car ferry operated by Acciona Trasmediterránea and FerryMaroc between Almeria and the Moroccan port of Nador.-History:...
  
   (built 1978) - sold to Brittany Ferries
  Brittany Ferries
  Brittany Ferries is a French ferry company that runs ships between France, the UK, Ireland and Spain.-1970s and 1980s:Following the provision of the deep-water port at Roscoff, the company commenced in January 1973 at the instigation of Alexis Gourvennec, when existing ferry companies showed...
  
  
• MS Koningin Beatrix
  MS Stena Baltica
  MS Stena Baltica is a ro-ro ferry owned by Stena Line and operated on their Karlskrona - Gdynia service. She was built in 1986 by Van der Giessen de Noord as MS Koningin Beatrix for SMZ...
  
   (built 1986) - sold to Stena Line BV
  Stena Line Holland BV
  Stena Line Holland BV is a subsidiary of Stena Line that operates ferry routes between Harwich and Killingholme on the east coast of England and Hoek van Holland and Europort in the Netherlands. The head office is in Hoek van Holland in the Netherlands...