Dutch Houseflags of Shipping Companies [l]

Last modified: 2021-12-11 by rob raeside
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• Van Laar Maritime
• "Laga" en "Vredebest"
• Lensen, Terneuzen
• Lenten
• Levant
• Van der Linden
• P.W. Louwman
• Lusitania
• D. Lijnzaad

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Van Laar Maritime

image by Matijn Nekkers, 10 November 2021

Van Laar Maritime BV in IJmuiden originates from 1925. The company operates a fleet of guard, seismic support and multipurpose vessels, mainly involved in the offshore oil and wind farm industry. They own a shipyard in the port IJmuiden as well.
Sources: private observation (2015), Lekko magazine and Binnenvaartkrant
Matijn Nekkers, 10 November 2021

Funnel marking

image by Matijn Nekkers, 10 November 2021

"Laga" en "Vredebest"

A site dedicated to Rotterdam’s colourful – and partly maritime – past “Rotterdammers” seems to be down again.  They had a page titled (Dutch, old spelling) “Maatschappij-vlaggen en schoorstenen der voornaamste Reederijen Rotterdam in 1925” i.e. Company flags and funnels belonging to the most important shipping companies at Rotterdam, 1925.  This suggests the house flags had been taken from a chart or some other publication.

‘Stoomvaart Maatschappijen "Laga" en "Vredebest"’ or ‘Steam Shipping Companies “Laga” and “Vredebest"' apparently flew the same house flag, blue bearing a white triangle based on the flag’s lower edge (the apex does not touch the opposite edge), and black combined initials ‘TR’ on said triangle. ‘TR’ may have been the owner’s (or partners’) initials but I have been unable to find the name(s).
I also do not know if there is any connection to the Delft-based rowing club of that name, or where the second name (litt. “Peacebest”) comes from: family name, place, other?

Well, there are some traces…  ‘Mont Rose’ was built in 1917 for Vredebest; the freighter ‘Mont Cenis’ was operated by 1921-22 by Laga; ex-Horn Linie ‘Claus Horn’ - in British hands - was sold to Vredebest in 1921, sailing as ‘Karl’ only to be resold three years later; Vredebest sold ‘Neckar’ to OPDR in 1927.
Jan Mertens, 18 Jul 2008

Lensen, Terneuzen

A.C. Lensen, Terneuzen.
Flag: white field, blue italic "L".
Source: Brown's Flags and Funnels of British and Foreign Steamship Companies, compiled by F.J.N. Wedge, Glasgow, 1926 [wed26]
Jarig Bakker, 28 January 2005

Lenten

Now and then there appears a well-designed flag flown by a tiny shipping enterprise, and then it fully deserves recognition.  The Lenten house flag is such an example, my source being the on-line Schuttevaer (Dutch shipping biweekly, no. 9 of 22 Apr 2008, pp. 30, 31, and 33): (select 2008 / 09 in upper left case). P. 30 presents vessel 'Antonie' as sailing for NPRC, an inland bargemen's commercial association and p. 31 presents Lenten, a third generation shipping family active in NPRC since 1984.
'Antonie' was acquired in order to become one of the association's five large vessels and will ship salt from Delfzijl to Rotterdam for the next three years, hence the specially equipped hull.
P. 33 shows the revamped barge in all its glory, the bow fittingly adorned with the NPRC flag and another one, surely representing Lenten: white triangle based on the hoist, its apex touching the fly, defining two triangles, the upper one red and the lower one blue (national colours); near the hoist is placed a large black initial 'L' (serifed). Several logos on p. 33 appear on flags already known e.g. De Waal, Van Wijk, Schepen Onderlinge, or Fiwado.
Already the ship has its Vlootschouw page (but then that site is maintained by Binnenvaartkrant),
On the legal side, 'Antonie' is owned by VOF Lenten & Zoon Scheepvaartbedrijf (Partnership Lenten & Son Shipping Enterprise) established at Nieuwegein, a town S. of Utrecht linked to the River Lek leading to Rotterdam.
Jan Mertens, 8 May 2008

Levant

A site dedicated to Rotterdam’s colourful – and partly maritime – past “Rotterdammers” seems to be down again.  They had a page titled (Dutch, old spelling) “Maatschappij-vlaggen en schoorstenen der voornaamste Reederijen Rotterdam in 1925” i.e. Company flags and funnels belonging to the most important shipping companies at Rotterdam, 1925.  This suggests the house flags had been taken from a chart or some other publication.

Here is the the house flag of ‘Cargadoors- en Scheepvaartkantoor "Levant"’. The name means ‘Shipbroker’s and Shipping Office “Levant”’.
The flag was divided quarterly: top and bottom triangles red, hoist and fly triangles white plus a blue disk in the centre bearing a white initial ‘L’.  (I suppose none of the black holding lines are significant.)
These are the national colours, not unimportant in view of the fact that this Dutch “Levant” was the local office or branch of the well-known shipping company ‘Deutsche Levante Linie’ which had adopted the German national colours, then current: Obviously the branch flag was designed after that of the main office.
Here we encounter ‘Arta’ aka ‘Pontos’ which was operated for Deutsche Levante by the Dutch office 1920-1925, and ‘Derindje’, second of that name, same situation 1920-? for Hapag.
Jan Mertens, 17 Jul 2008

Van der Linden

This is a “Lithuanian” house flag – that of Van der Linden-Schiehaven, company seats at Delft and ’s-Gravendeel. Website of this inland navigation operator:
As you can see, horizontal, yellow-green-red colour bands adorn these webpages.

Some history from the ‘ons bedrijf’ (i.e. our company) section: founded end of the nineteen forties by Dirk Arie van der Linden as an earthworks firm which expanded after the 1953 dyke disaster, when construction sites went up everywhere.  This was followed by extensive ground preparation works for housing developments.  In the ‘seventies, two distinct Van der Linden firms addressed the need for sand supply and transport plus construction, respectively.  At the moment Van der Linden operates three ships, transporting sand, and two unloading quays.

Have a look at the ‘Merwestad’ barge, first photo of two, in the ‘schepen’ (i.e. ships) section.  Not only is there a shield in the company colours (bearing ‘vdL’ initials in yellow on the green stripe) on the bow, but the house flag is also in evidence (I have no idea about the mainly red flag though).

Then there is this Binnenvaart page showing the ‘Prinsenstad’, where we see the shield again and, in the upper left corner (on the terminal) a board showing the house flag with yellow initials.

Admittedly the Van der Linden site shows the ‘Maasstad’ in front of the same terminal but there the painted flag, and the one on the crane, are unclear (first photo – on the second, a lorry door shows the initialled flag as well).

Lastly, the ‘kippers’ section (meaning lorries!) shows, again, the house flag on the doors.
Jan Mertens, 27 Jun 2006

P.W. Louwman

Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of "P.W. Louwman" (#286, p. 50), a company based in Rotterdam, as red with a white diamond charged with the black letters "PLW" in the middle, the "L" being bigger than the two other letters.
Ivan Sache, 23 Apr 2008

Lusitania

Jan Mertens reported this link with mainly Dutch houseflags. Lusitania - dark blue flag, divided Czech style by red "Y" fimbriated white; on three blue parts "CPL". The website specifies: "NED" - Dutch.
Jarig Bakker, 3 Mar 2005

The main color of the flag of the Lusitania Lijn was green, not blue. Additional info: the line had two gastankers: Lingegas and Merwegas (now both of Unigas). The manager was P. Mandemaker.
Cees Schuller, 13 Feb 2006

D. Lijnzaad

D. Lijnzaad N.V. Transport en Handelmaatschappij, Rotterdam.
Flag: green over white bicolor; in center a flower with orange heart and white petals; on white "DL". ("Lijnzaad" = linseed, seed of flax).
Source: Wyt's Digest of Dutch Shipping and Shipbuilding 1966
Jarig Bakker, 18 Sep 2007

Note that the flower has nothing to do with a  five-petaled flax (Linum spp.) flower. It looks rather like a daisy flower head ("composed flower").
Ivan Sache, 18 Sep 2007