KNSM of Holland

This long established Dutch shipping company was one of the really great Caribbean, Central American and South American traders with a very big fleet. it was in business for 125 years before becoming part of the giant Nedlloyd combine in 1981. Koninklijke Nederlandsche Stoomboot Maats (KNSM) was founded on 1st October 1856 by a group of Dutch entrepreneurs led by the initiative of the German coffee merchant W. Rahmann. it started with a Baltic service on its day of founding and confined itself to Baltic and Mediterranean trading for most of the first thirty years. Ondine of 518 grt was the first ship in the fleet, with a service speed of eleven knots and accommodation for thirty passengers on services to France and limited summer services to Russia. Small steamers of between 1,000 dwt and 2,500 dwt formed the backbone of the fleet, but during this time were prone to loss by maritime causes of collision, fire, shipwreck and foundering due to severe storms. No fewer than two dozen of this big fleet were lost to these causes during the first forty years of the company e.g. Jason of 1,653 grt built in 1866 stranded and was abandoned at Chios in Greece in 1892.