The Royal Rotterdam Lloyd (Koninklijke Rotterdamsche Lloyd or KRL) was a Dutch shipping company that was established in Rotterdam between

1883 Events January–March * January 4 – ''Life'' magazine is founded in Los Angeles, California, United States. * January 10 – A fire at the Newhall Hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, kills 73 people. * Janua ...

and

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

. Until

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

the name was Rotterdamsche Lloyd (RL). In 1970 the KRL merged with several other Dutch shipping companies to form the Nederlandsche Scheepvaart Unie (NSU), known from

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

as Nedlloyd.

History

The ''Royal Rotterdam'' was founded on June 15,

with seven ships, housed in joint

shipping companies The following articles list companies that operate ships: * List of freight ship companies for companies that own and operate the freight ships (Bulk Carriers, Container Ships, Roll-on/Roll-off (for Freights), Tankers and Gas Carriers). ** List o ...

and under the management of Wm. Ruys & Zonen, were united in one company the company's origins date back to

1839 Events January–March * January 2 – The first photograph of the Moon is taken, by French photographer Louis Daguerre. * January 6 – Night of the Big Wind: Ireland is struck by the most damaging cyclone in 300 years. * January 9 – T ...

when the Rotterdam shipowner Willem Ruys (1809-1889) set sail for the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

and the Far East. As a result of the opening of the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

, his son Willem Ruys (1837-1901) expanded the company in

1872 Events January–March * January 12 – Yohannes IV is crowned Emperor of Ethiopia in Axum, the first ruler crowned in that city in over 500 years. * February 2 – The government of the United Kingdom buys a number of forts on ...

with a steamboat service to Batavia. In

1875 Events January–March * January 1 – The Midland Railway of England abolishes the Second Class passenger category, leaving First Class and Third Class. Other British railway companies follow Midland's lead during the rest of the ...

he founded the Partenrederij Stoomboot Reederij "Rotterdamsche Lloyd" himself, whose name was changed in

1881 Events January–March * January 1– 24 – Siege of Geok Tepe: Russian troops under General Mikhail Skobelev defeat the Turkomans. * January 13 – War of the Pacific – Battle of San Juan and Chorrillos: The C ...

to Stoomvaart Maatschappij "Rotterdamsche Lloyd", and which was eventually converted in

into a public limited company under the name Rotterdamsche Lloyd NV.

During WWII

Director Willem Ruys was arrested as a hostage by the German occupiers and executed in

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

. The shipping company lost at least ten ships in the western hemisphere as well as in Asian waters as a result of German and Japanese acts of war. Including the ''Slamat'', ''Baloeran'' and ''Dempo''. The cargo ship Kertosono was the first casualty of the German raider Thor in July

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

. The

Slamat disaster The ''Slamat'' disaster is a succession of three related shipwrecks during the Battle of Greece on 27 April 1941. The Dutch troopship and the Royal Navy destroyers and sank as a result of air attacks by ''Luftwaffe'' Junkers Ju 87 dive bombers ...

April 27 Events Pre-1600 * 247 – Philip the Arab marks the millennium of Rome with a celebration of the ''ludi saeculares''. * 395 – Emperor Arcadius marries Aelia Eudoxia, daughter of the Frankish general Flavius Bauto. She becomes one of ...

1941 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January–August – 10,072 men, women and children with mental and physical disabilities are asphyxiated with carbon monoxide in a gas chamber, at Hadamar Eu ...

was the biggest disaster in Dutch merchant navy history, 983 people were killed, more than 450 of them from the Slamat. After the war, the first new passenger ship of the shipping company, whose construction had already started in

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

, was christened Willem Ruys, after the director who had been killed.

Ships

Passenger ships in particular became well known, such as Indrapoera (1926-1956), Baloeran (1930-1940), Dempo (1931-1944) and Willem Ruys (1947-1964). Cargo ships with passenger accommodation also arrived. As a result of the Second World War, the creation of the state of Indonesia in

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

and the disappearance of the old colonial connections, the ''KRL'' had to look for new areas of work. Smit-Lloyd was founded in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

together with

Smit Internationale Smit Internationale N.V. (or Smit International) is a Dutch company operating in the maritime sector. The company was founded in 1842 by Fop Smit as a towage company with only the 140 horsepower paddle steamer tug ''Kinderdijk''. Fop's son ...

to operate platform supply vessels for the offshore.

Fate

January 20 Events Pre-1600 * 250 – Pope Fabian is martyred during the Decian persecution. * 649 – King Chindasuinth, at the urging of bishop Braulio of Zaragoza, crowns his son Recceswinth as co-ruler of the Visigothic Kingdom. * 1156 &ndas ...

the KRL merged with four other Dutch shipping companies to form the Nederlandsche Scheepvaart Unie (NSU), known as Nedlloyd from 1977. The archives of the KRL were transferred to the municipal archives of Rotterdam.

Trivia

On the 25th anniversary of the Rotterdamsche Lloyd in

1908 Events January * January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica. * January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 46 ...

, the management was offered a model of the package boat ''Tabanan''.

External links

* e.a. (red.), ''Maritieme Encyclopedie. Deel IV'', Bussum, 1971, p. 132-133 * , ''Rotterdamsche Lloyd'', Houten, 1988 * , ''Rotterdamsche Lloyd'', Rosmalen, 2004 * , ''Koninklijke Rotterdamsche Lloyd. Beknopte geschiedenis van een rederij'', Zutphen, 2004 {{ISBN, 9057303310
Inventory of the archives of the KRL in the Gemeentearchief Rotterdam

Lloyd-Atelier
website about the KRL.

Defunct transport companies of the Netherlands Defunct shipping companies of the Netherlands Dutch companies established in 1883 1970 disestablishments in the Netherlands

History

During WWII

Ships

Fate

Trivia

See also

External links