Zeeland Steamship Co
‘Cross-Channel and Coastal Paddle Steamers’ by George Frank Burtt
THE Zeeland Steamship Company, or to give it its correct title. De Stoomvaart Maatschappij "Zeeland," was formed for the purpose of running an additional service between England and Holland and is perhaps best known as "the Flushing route." It is the only independent steamship company engaged in the fast Continental Cross-Channel mail and passenger traffic, as all the vessels plying on other routes are owned - either wholly or in part - by one or other of the railway companies serving the ports from which they run.
The service was started in July, 1875, between Sheerness and Flushing, and the boats ran nightly, except Sundays. The vessels, however, were withdrawn in the following November owing to the poor support received from the travelling public. The route was re-opened in May, 1876, and the boats ran to and from Queenborough Pier, which had just been completed. A few months later, the Dutch Government gave the Company the contract for the conveyance of the mails from Holland to England.
On May 18th, 1882, Queenborough Pier was destroyed by fire, and for several weeks the boats ran to and from Dover.
On June 1st, 1887, to meet the requirements of the Dutch postal authorities, a day and night service was inaugurated in each direction.
In the early part of December, 1897 owing to floods and heavy gales severely damaging the railway on the Queenborough branch the service was temporarily transferred to Dover; whilst in 1900 Queenborough Pier - never a very robust structure - was burnt down for the second time, and the steamers then used Port Victoria on the opposite side of the Medway for a time.
In 1909, the rival Harwich-Hook of Holland service having been accelerated, the Company built some fast twin-screw boats to speed up their own route. The approaches to Queenborough, however, are shallow and between sandbanks, and the new boats used this port for only one season, the night service on which they worked being transferred to Folkestone in May, 1911. The day service (being non-competitive) continued to be worked by the slower paddle boats from Queenborough for a time; but when more screw boats were purchased, the day service, as well, was transferred to Folkestone.
The company’s paddle boats were amongst the largest, fastest and most comfortable of any cross-channel steamers running at the time. They were all built by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Co., of Glasgow, between 1877 and 1895. All had two funnels and boilers fore and aft of the engines. Originally, the funnels were painted black with a white band, but latterly the Company adopted cream colour with a black top. The names of the steamers were painted on the paddle boxes and their port of register was Amsterdam.
THE STAD MIDDELBURG, STAD VLISSINGEN AND STAD BREDA.
Three second-hand boats were purchased by the Company for the inauguration of the Flushing route in July, 1875 ; they were named STAD MIDDELBURG, STAD VLISSINGEN and STAD BREDA. The two first named were sister ships, and were built in 1865 by Quiggin, of Liverpool, and engined by Jack and Co., of Liverpool. They had been previously employed in a more romantic sphere as blockade runners in the Gulf of Mexico during the American Civil War, being then named SOUTHERN and NORTHERN respectively. The STAD BREDA, under the name of SNAEFELL, had been plying between Liverpool and the Isle of Man.
The STAD VLISSINGEN came to an unfortunate end in 1879, when she stranded and broke up. In 1881, the STAD MIDDELBURG was re-christened AURORA, and in 1888 was sold; whilst the STAD BREDA was also sold in 1888.
THE PRINSES MARIE AND THE PRINSES ELISABETH.
The first two steamers built for this service were the PRINSES MARIE and the PRINSES ELISABETH, constructed in 1877 by John Elder and Co. of Glasgow - now the Fairfield Shipbuilding Co. They were put on the station in March and April, 1878, and had a speed of 17.2 knots.
In 1889, the PRINSES MARIE was fitted with new boilers and was sold to the Stettiner Dampfschifffahrts Gesellschaft of Stettin, who re-named her GERMANIA. The PRINSES ELISABETH in the same year was purchased by G. O. Wallenburg and went to Stockholm. Her name was re-spelt "PRINZESS ELISABETH" but later the original form was reverted to. In 1905, she was running as the SvEA, her port of registry being Stockholm.
In 1880, another ship named PRINS HENDRIK was built at the same Glasgow yard. She was similar to the previous two steamers but had slightly less speed: 16.7 knots. In 1889 she was re-boilered, and in 1902 was sold to die firm of Gebruder Specht, of Bremen. After the new paddle steamer, PRINS HENDRIK was built in 1895, the older ship was rarely used and was laid up in the inner harbour at Flushing. Consequently for several years this company possessed two steamers with the same name.
THE WILLEM PRINS VAN ORANJE.
The three previous boats sufficed until 1883, when another steamer was built by the Fairfield Company, the WILLEM PRINS VAN ORANJE. It had a speed of 18.2 knots and was fitted with new boilers in 1896 by J. Elder and Co., Glasgow. It was withdrawn from service in 1909 and sold to the Scheepsslooperii “Holland” Hendrik Ido-Ambacht.
THE ENGELAND, DUITSCHLAND, AND NEDERLAND.
In 1886, following the decision to introduce a day service, three more boats were ordered from the Fairfield Company, fitted with suitable appointments for a daylight passage. Named ENGELAND, DUITSCHLAND, and NEDERLAND the two first named were launched in December, 1886, whilst the third took the water on 1st May, 1887. The engines were of the same dimensions as the four earlier boats, but they worked at 38 revolutions a minute and 80 lb. steam pressure, against the earlier boat’s 37 revolutions and 75 lb. pressure. Steam w^as supplied by four single-ended boilers.
The ENGELAND on her official trial trips when running on the measured mile at Skelmorlie attained a speed of 19.25 knots, that being 2.25 in excess of the specified speed. The NEDERLAND when on her official run attained a speed of 19.25 knots.
In 1910, the NEDERLAND was purchased by Scheepsslooperij “Holland” Hendrik Ido-Ambacht, in 1911 the same firm bought the ENGELAND for breaking up.
To emphasize the neutral ownership during the Great War, the DUITSCHLAND was re-named ZEELAND in 1916, and in 1922 she was sold to Diederichsen of Hamburg.
THE KONINGIN WILHELMINA, KONINGIN REGENTES AND PRINS HENDRIK (II)
The improvements in the rival Hook of Holland service in 1893 adversely affected this company. Accordingly, they reduced their fares, and in December, 1894, contracted with the Fairfield Company to. build three larger and more powerful steamers. They were the last paddle steamers to be built for this service. The KONINGIN WILHELMINA was launched on May 23rd, 1895, the KONINGIN REGENTES on July 9th, and the PRINS HENDRIK on August 22nd.
The engines were amongst the largest paddle engines ever constructed, being triple expansion with cylinders 51 inches, 75 inches and 112 inches diameter by 78 inches stroke. They indicated 9,000 h.p. and gave a speed of 21 knots. They had six single-ended boilers having a grate area of 396 square feet, and a total heating surface of 17,658 square feet. They worked at a pressure of 170 lb. per square inch and the engines made 48 revolutions a minute.
The KONINGIN WILHELMINA had new boilers in November, 1901, whilst the KONINGIN REGENTES was similarly treated in July, 1903, and the PRINS HENDRIK in December, 1904.
When the new screw boats were put on the night service in 1910, these three boats were re-conditioned as day boats.
The KONINGIN WILHELMINA was sunk on July, 31st, 1916. She left Flushing at 6 a.m. for Tilbury and at 9.53 a.m. she was either torpedoed or else struck a mine near the North Hinder Lightship. She was kept afloat for some time by 1,000 empty barrels stored in the holds, with the idea of keeping her afloat should she be damaged below the water line by mine or torpedo. They served their purpose well at first, but later the ship broke in two and foundered. All the passengers were saved, but two stokers and one donkeyman were killed by the explosion and five men were injured. Consequent on this disaster, the Company withdrew its services to and from England until the end of the Great War.
The KONINGIN REGENTES was torpedoed on June 5th, 1918, by a German submarine, whilst carrying repatriated British prisoners of war.
The PRINS HENDRIK was sold in 1922 to Diederichsen of Hamburg. She was the last paddle steamer on the Flushing route, the service being now maintained by screw vessels—working, since January, 1927, from Parkeston. There is now a day service only.
See Also
Sources of Information
- Directory of Shipowners, Shipbuilders and Marine Engineers 1955