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Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij

January 01, 1970

Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij (KPM, Dutch for Royal Packet Navigation Company), was a Dutch shipping line in the Dutch East Indies, now Indonesia. It traded form 1888 to 1966. It was the dominant inter-island shipping line in the Dutch East Indies in the last half-century of the colonial era.[1]

NV Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij
Company typeNaamloze vennootschap
IndustryPassenger, mail and cargo shipping within the Dutch East Indies, and to and from neighbouring countries
Founded1888
Founder
Defunct1966
FateMerged
Successors
Headquarters
Amsterdam
,
Netherlands
ParentNederlandsche Scheepvaart Unie 
Websitehttp://kunstbezitnedlloyd.org

Foundation edit

 
A KPM advertisement in 1910
 
The headquarters of the KPM in Koningsplein, Batavia. The building is now the headquarters of the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation.

In 1863 the British-owned Nederlandsch-Indische Stoomvaartmaatschappij (NISM) won a tender for a number of subsidized shipping lines in the Dutch East Indies. As a consequence the inter-island shipping lines became centered on Singapore. Further, all but two of the many ships required were built in the United Kingdom. The minister of colonial affairs Jacobus Sprenger van Eyk and the businessmen Jan Boissevain (1836–1904), Willem Ruys, and PE Tegelberg responded with a plan for a new "national" shipping line.

On 19 March 1888 a law was made to govern the relations between the (Dutch East Indies) government and the new public company, Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij. KPM had to hold office in the Netherlands or Dutch East Indies; appointments of executives and representatives had to be approved by the government; a government representative would have access to the administration and meetings of the company; half of the required ships must be built in the Netherlands; the company could use only Dutch commanders, navigators and engineers; and the Dutch government would subsidise the company to operate the lines.[2]

The establishment of the KPM did indeed have the desired effects. The KPM supported the unification of the Dutch colonial economy as the Netherlands expanded its territory across the Indonesian archipelago. It brought inter-island commerce back from Singapore to the capital, Batavia (now Jakarta), which shifted economic activity to Java,[3] and supplied more cargo for the shipping lines between Batavia and the Netherlands. Transport on this route was provided by the Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland (executives Jan Boissevain and PE Tegelberg) and Rotterdamsche Lloyd (executive Willem Ruys).

 
Disembarkation, presumably from the steamship Both of the Royal Paketvaart Maatschappij, of troops at Sanoer near Denpasar in the seventh Bali expedition, directed against the monarch.
 
Paddle steamer Negara on the Barito River

First ships edit

The foundation of the KPM also had a significant effect on the Dutch shipbuilding industry. The KPM ordered all its ships from the Netherlands. Especially in the early 1890s, this allowed Dutch shipyards to gain experience in building faster ships and to catch up with the foreign competition.[4] In a few years the KPM ordered Both, Reael, Maetsuijcker and Coen at De Schelde Van Diemen and Carpentier at Fijenoord, Reijnst, Van Goens and Speelman at the Koninklijke Fabriek van Stoom- en andere Werktuigen, Reijniersz and Zwaardecroon at Maatschappij De Maas in Rotterdam, Van Riebeeck at J&K Smit in Slikkerveer and Camphuys at Huijgens and van Gelder in Amsterdam.[2]

Routes edit

The line's routes, beyond the home islands, included services to the ports of Singapore and Hong Kong, Shanghai, Manila, Saigon; the Australian ports of Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide; African ports such as Durban, East London, Port Elizabeth, Mossel Bay, Cape Town, Zanzibar, Mombasa, and the Indian Ocean ports of Réunion and Mauritius and Mahé.[5]

First World War edit

The Netherlands were neutral in the First World War. However, in March 1918 the UK seized under angary numerous Dutch ships in ports of the British Isles and the British Empire. They included the KPM ships Pijnacker Hordijk, Rochussen, 's Jacob, Tasman, Van Heemskerk, and Van Waerwijck. In September 1918 U-46 sank Tasman by torpedo in the North Atlantic, killing 14 of her crew.[6] The UK returned the remaining ships to KPM in 1919.[7][8][9][10][11][12]

Between the wars edit

 
The motor ship Ruys early in 1938, around the time when she was completed

Until the 1920s, every KPM ship was smaller than 5,000 GRT, and they were built for economy, not speed. Between the two World Wars, KPM continued to concentrate on small ships, but added a small number of larger ships for some of its major routes. A pair of twin-screw turbine ships, Nieuw Holland and Nieuw Zeeland, were launched in 1927 and completed in 1928. Each was about 11,000 GRT and had a speed of 15 knots (28 km/h).[13][14] Three triple-screw motor ships were launched in 1937, named Boissevain, Tegelberg and Ruys after KPM's founders. Each was about 14,000 GRT and had a speed of 17 knots (31 km/h).[15][16][17]

To advance tourism in Indonesia, the company built a hotel on Bali in 1928, launching a tourist trade in the region.[18]

Second World War edit

 
The turbine ship Nieuw Zeeland

In May 1940 Germany invaded the Netherlands. In August 1940 the UK Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) chartered Nieuw Zeeland and Nieuw Holland for conversion into troop ships.[13][14]

Operating in and near the East Indies, KPM avoided war losses until February 1941, when Admiral Scheer shelled the cargo ship Rantaupandjang in the Indian Ocean, wounding four of her crew. Rantaupandjang surrendered, and a German boarding party scuttled her. Admiral Scheer interned Rantaupandjang's crew, two of whom died of wounds they sustained in the shelling.[19]

In December 1941 Japan invaded the Dutch East Indies. KPM ships helped the Dutch, British and Australian warships to defend Singapore. In the Battle of the Java Sea, KPM ships carried ammunition. The Royal Netherlands Navy chartered several KPM ships to support the defense of the Netherlands East Indies and Singapore against the Japanese invasion.[20]

KPM ships took part in the first months of war in the Pacific theatre, moving supplies and troops. In January 1942, RMS Aquitania was to take troops from Australia to Singapore, until concern about putting such a large and valued troopship, laden with 3,456 troops, in range of Japanese air strikes, led to a change of plan. Aquitania, escorted by the cruiser HMAS Canberra, left Sydney on 10 January, and arrived at Ratai Bay in the Sunda Strait on 20 January. There her troops were distributed among the KPM ships Both, Reael, Reijnst, Sloet van de Beele, Van der Lijn, and Van Swoll, and the UK-registered ship Taishan. The convoy reached Singapore on 24 January.[21]

In March 1942 Japan overran Java, which all but completed its conquest of the Dutch East Indies. 21 KPM ships, laden with refugees, reached Australian ports. The ships were incorporated into a fleet being assembled by United States Forces in Australia (USFIA), which was soon redesignated as US Army Forces in Australia (USAFIA) and later the US Army Services of Supply (USASOS), to support the defense of Australia and campaign against the Japanese in the South West Pacific Area (SWPA).[22] Early in 1942, The 21 KPM ships were chartered for US Army use and became known as the "KPM vessels" in the SWPA fleet.[23] The means by which these vessels were brought under control of the SWPA command was complex and involved discussions with the Dutch government-in-exile in both London and Washington, as well as in Australia. At first the 21 ships that reached Australia were chartered by the Chief Quartermaster, USAFIA, on 26 March 1942 with long term details to be negotiated at higher levels.[24]

The eventual decision, involving governments in London, Washington and the Combined Chiefs of Staff, was that the charters would be handled by the British MoWT for the US Army. The complex arrangement was a "bareboat charter to MoWT and through the War Shipping Administration (WSA) the ships were assigned by WSA to the Army but 'not, repeat not, on bareboat but on gross basis,' though under 'full control' of the Army."[25] In early March 1943 almost half the permanent local fleet comprised KPM vessels:

On 6 March 1943, nearly 16 months after the beginning of the war, the permanent local fleet consisted of 43 vessels: the 21 KPM vessels obtained on 26 March 1942 and the 6 additional KPM vessels obtained on 19 January 1943; 3 vessels from the China Navigation Co. Ltd. (Anhui, Hanyang, and Yochow); the Empire Hamble (formerly Thepsatri Nawa, previously Admiral Senn), of Siamese registry, assigned 15 October 1942; the Admiral Halstead, West Cactus (assigned 20 May 1942), and Portmar (salvaged and reconditioned in 1942 by port-battalion troops), of US registry; and 9 unnamed Liberty ships, which probably were in temporary service. Coast Farmer had been sunk on 21 July 1942, and Dona Nati had been withdrawn.[26]

The 21 original ships were: Balikpapan (1938), Bantam (1930), Bontekoe (1922), Both (1931), Cremer (1926), Generaal Verspijck (1928), Janssens (1935), Japara (1930), Karsik (1938), Khoen Hoea (1924),[Note 1] Maetsuycker (1936), 's Jacob (1907), Sibigo (1926),[27] Stagen (1919), Swartenhondt (1924), Tasman (1921), Van den Bosch (1903), Van der Lijn (1928), Van Heemskerk (1909), Van Heutsz (1926) and Van Spilbergen (1908).[28]

 
Wreck of the cargo ship Bantam, Oro Bay, New Guinea

On the night of 11–12 December 1942 Karsik, escorted by HMAS Lithgow, was the first large ship to arrive at Oro Bay. She delivered four Stuart light tanks, which were then taken by barges and landed within miles of the battlefront at Buna.[29][30][31] Mayo notes the fact a large ship had arrived and thus the supply line had opened as having perhaps even greater significance than the arrival of the tanks.[31] The subsequent, routine, supply runs of Operation Lilliput supporting the Allied campaign were with few exceptions made by the KPM ships, some of which were damaged or lost.[29][32]

 
Maetsuycker was the Southwest Pacific Area inter-base hospital ship

Two of the ships, Maetsuycker and Tasman, were converted to hospital ships to handle casualties in the New Guinea campaign.[33] Both ships, though under United States Army control, were Dutch-registered and certified as hospital ships under the Hague Convention by the Dutch government-in-exile.[34]

Losses edit

Nearly 100 KPM ships were sunk by enemy action, with the loss of more than a thousand lives. Most of the losses were in 1942. That January, Van Imhoff left the Dutch East Indies and headed for Colombo in Ceylon, carrying several hundred German internees. On 19 January, Japanese aircraft sank her west of Sumatra, killing 413 people.[35] On 26 February Rooseboom left Batavia carrying 500 evacuees, including 250 British soldiers, headed for Padang on Sumatra. On 1 March I-59 sank her by torpedo, killing about 500 of the people aboard. Only six people survived.[36]

The largest ship that KPM lost was Nieuw Zeeland. In November 1942 she carried troops for Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of French North Africa. She reached Oran on 8 November and landed 1,933 troops, but on 11 November U-380 sank her by torpedo as she was approaching the Strait of Gibraltar on her return voyage. 14 members of her crew were killed, and another four died of wounds after being rescued.[37]

Post-war edit

With the declaration of independence and the establishment of Indonesia as a nation in 1945 and 1949 respectively, the highly profitable KPM remained under Dutch ownership and management. KPM became a major focus for Indonesian activists seeking to reduce Dutch influence in the post-colonial economy. After competing with the national Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia (National Indonesian Shipping) line and demonstrations by the trade union laborers on 3 December 1957, KPM was faced with nationalization and so decided to move its headquarters and international shipping assets to Singapore in 1958.[1][38][39] From that base, KPM bought control of Maatschappij Zeetransport (the Oranje Lijn) of Rotterdam, thus entering the European-Canadian trade. This effort was unsuccessful, so KPM sold its Oranje Lijn holdings, and the company was liquidated.

KPM itself continued until 1 January 1967, when it merged with the Koninklijke Java China Paketvaart Lijnen (KJCPL) of Amsterdam. Crews and ships continued service with other lines until finally all former KPM elements were taken over by Nedlloyd in 1977.[1]

The company later merged into Nedlloyd, which in turn merged into P&O Nedlloyd which became part of Maersk Line.

Footnotes edit

  1. ^ Ship was built for Thong Ek Steamship Co. specifically designed for the Singapore/Pontianak (Borneo) trade and chartered to KPM sometime in 1940. Evacuated part of ABDA naval staff from Java to Australia. (Gill, 1957, p. 627)

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Swiggum & Kohli 2010.
  2. ^ a b "De Koninklijke Paketwaart Maatschappij". Bataviaasch Handelsblad. 16 January 1891. p. 1 – via Delpher.
  3. ^ Vickers 2005, p. 20.
  4. ^ Lintsen 1993, p. 97.
  5. ^ Larsson 2011.
  6. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Tasman". uboat.net. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  7. ^ "Pijnacker Hordijk – ID 5164". Stichting Maritiem-Historische Databank (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  8. ^ "Rochussen – ID 5541". Stichting Maritiem-Historische Databank (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  9. ^ "s'Jacob – ID 8558". Stichting Maritiem-Historische Databank (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  10. ^ "Tasman – ID 6417". Stichting Maritiem-Historische Databank (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  11. ^ "Van Heemskerk – ID 6883". Stichting Maritiem-Historische Databank (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  12. ^ "Van Waerwijck – ID 6915". Stichting Maritiem-Historische Databank (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  13. ^ a b "Nieuw Zeeland – ID 4637". Stichting Maritiem-Historische Databank (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  14. ^ a b "Nieuw Holland – ID 4636". Stichting Maritiem-Historische Databank (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  15. ^ "Boissevain – ID 1032". Stichting Maritiem-Historische Databank (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  16. ^ "Tegelberg – ID 6430". Stichting Maritiem-Historische Databank (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  17. ^ "Ruys – ID 5623". Stichting Maritiem-Historische Databank (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  18. ^ Silver 2007[page needed]
  19. ^ "Rantaupandjang – ID 5411". Stichting Maritiem-Historische Databank (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  20. ^ Bekker 1950[page needed]
  21. ^ Gill 1957, p. 524.
  22. ^ Masterson 1949, pp. 320–338.
  23. ^ Bykofsky & Larson 1990, pp. 449–450.
  24. ^ Masterson 1949, pp. 322–323.
  25. ^ Masterson 1949, p. 336.
  26. ^ Masterson 1949, p. 338.
  27. ^ . Archived from the original on 12 October 2013. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
  28. ^ Masterson 1949, p. 322.
  29. ^ a b Masterson 1949, pp. 588–589.
  30. ^ Gill 1968, pp. 244, 245.
  31. ^ a b Mayo 1968, p. 82.
  32. ^ Gill 1968, pp. 262, 268.
  33. ^ Masterson 1949, p. 348.
  34. ^ Smith 1956, p. 410.
  35. ^ "Van Imhoff – ID 6890". Stichting Maritiem-Historische Databank (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  36. ^ "Rooseboom – ID 5579". Stichting Maritiem-Historische Databank (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  37. ^ Helgason, Guðmundur. "Nieuw Zeeland". uboat.net. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  38. ^ Lindblad 2011, p. 14.
  39. ^ Telegram From the US Embassy in Indonesia to the Department of State (Djakarta, 10 December 1957—2 p.m.).

Cited works edit

  • Bekker, H.Th. (1950). De K.P.M. in oorlogstijd — 1939–1945. Amsterdam: J.H. de Bussy.
  • Bykofsky, Joseph; Larson, Harold (1990) [1957]. (PDF). United States Army in World War II. Washington, DC: Center of Military History United States Army. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2016.
  • Gill, G. Hermon (1957). . Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 2 – Navy. Vol. 1. Canberra: Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 25 May 2009.
  • Gill, G. Hermon (1968). . Australia in the War of 1939–1945. Series 2 – Navy. Vol. 2. Canberra: Australian War Memorial. Archived from the original on 27 September 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  • Larsson, Björn (2 April 2011). "KPM Line (Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij – Royal Packet Navigation Co.)". Maritime Timetable Images. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  • Lindblad, J Thomas (2011). "The Economic Decolonisation of Indonesia: a Bird's-eye View". Journal of Indonesian Social Sciences and Humanities. 4: 1–20. doi:10.14203/jissh.v4i0.71. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  • Lintsen, HW (1993). Geschiedenis van de techniek in Nederland. De wording van een moderne samenleving 1800-1890. Deel IV.
  • Masterson, James R. (1949). U.S. Army Transportation In The Southwest Pacific Area 1941–1947. Washington, DC: Transportation Unit, Historical Division, Special Staff, US Army.
  • Mayo, Lida (1968). The Technical Services—The Ordnance Department: On Beachhead And Battlefront. United States Army In World War II. Washington, DC: Center Of Military History, United States Army. LCCN 79014631.
  • Silver, Christopher (2007). "Tourism, Cultural Heritage, and Human Rights in Indonesia: The Challenges of an Emerging Democratic Society". In Silverman, Helaine; Ruggles, D. Fairchild (eds.). Cultural heritage and human rights. New York: Springer. ISBN 978-0387713137. OCLC 187048155.
  • Smith, Clarence McKittrick (1956). The Technical Services—The Medical Department: Hospitalization And Evacuation, Zone of Interior. United States Army in World War II. Washington, DC: Center of Military History, United States Army. LCCN 55060005.
  • Swiggum, Susan; Kohli, Marjorie (21 September 2010). "Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij 1888–1967". The ShipsList.
  • US Embassy in Indonesia (10 December 1957). "Telegram From the U.S. Embassy in Indonesia to the Department of State (Djakarta, December 10, 1957–2 p.m.)". US Department of State. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  • Vickers, Adrian (2005). A History of Modern Indonesia. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-54262-6.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij.
  • "Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij 1888–1967". TheShipsList. 21 September 2010.
  • Documents and clippings about Koninklijke Paketvaart-Maatschappij in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW

January 01, 1970
koninklijke, paketvaart, maatschappij, dutch, royal, packet, navigation, company, dutch, shipping, line, dutch, east, indies, indonesia, traded, form, 1888, 1966, dominant, inter, island, shipping, line, dutch, east, indies, last, half, century, colonial, comp. Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij KPM Dutch for Royal Packet Navigation Company was a Dutch shipping line in the Dutch East Indies now Indonesia It traded form 1888 to 1966 It was the dominant inter island shipping line in the Dutch East Indies in the last half century of the colonial era 1 NV Koninklijke Paketvaart MaatschappijCompany typeNaamloze vennootschapIndustryPassenger mail and cargo shipping within the Dutch East Indies and to and from neighbouring countriesFounded1888FounderRotterdamsche Lloyd Stoomvaart Maatschappij NederlandDefunct1966FateMergedSuccessorsNedlloyd 1970 1997 P amp O Nedlloyd 1997 2006 Maersk Line 2006 present HeadquartersAmsterdam NetherlandsParentNederlandsche Scheepvaart Unie Websitehttp kunstbezitnedlloyd org Contents 1 Foundation 2 First ships 3 Routes 4 First World War 5 Between the wars 6 Second World War 6 1 Losses 7 Post war 8 Footnotes 9 References 10 Cited works 11 External linksFoundation edit nbsp A KPM advertisement in 1910 nbsp The headquarters of the KPM in Koningsplein Batavia The building is now the headquarters of the Indonesian Ministry of Transportation In 1863 the British owned Nederlandsch Indische Stoomvaartmaatschappij NISM won a tender for a number of subsidized shipping lines in the Dutch East Indies As a consequence the inter island shipping lines became centered on Singapore Further all but two of the many ships required were built in the United Kingdom The minister of colonial affairs Jacobus Sprenger van Eyk and the businessmen Jan Boissevain 1836 1904 Willem Ruys and PE Tegelberg responded with a plan for a new national shipping line On 19 March 1888 a law was made to govern the relations between the Dutch East Indies government and the new public company Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij KPM had to hold office in the Netherlands or Dutch East Indies appointments of executives and representatives had to be approved by the government a government representative would have access to the administration and meetings of the company half of the required ships must be built in the Netherlands the company could use only Dutch commanders navigators and engineers and the Dutch government would subsidise the company to operate the lines 2 The establishment of the KPM did indeed have the desired effects The KPM supported the unification of the Dutch colonial economy as the Netherlands expanded its territory across the Indonesian archipelago It brought inter island commerce back from Singapore to the capital Batavia now Jakarta which shifted economic activity to Java 3 and supplied more cargo for the shipping lines between Batavia and the Netherlands Transport on this route was provided by the Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland executives Jan Boissevain and PE Tegelberg and Rotterdamsche Lloyd executive Willem Ruys nbsp Disembarkation presumably from the steamship Both of the Royal Paketvaart Maatschappij of troops at Sanoer near Denpasar in the seventh Bali expedition directed against the monarch nbsp Paddle steamer Negara on the Barito RiverFirst ships editThe foundation of the KPM also had a significant effect on the Dutch shipbuilding industry The KPM ordered all its ships from the Netherlands Especially in the early 1890s this allowed Dutch shipyards to gain experience in building faster ships and to catch up with the foreign competition 4 In a few years the KPM ordered Both Reael Maetsuijcker and Coen at De Schelde Van Diemen and Carpentier at Fijenoord Reijnst Van Goens and Speelman at the Koninklijke Fabriek van Stoom en andere Werktuigen Reijniersz and Zwaardecroon at Maatschappij De Maas in Rotterdam Van Riebeeck at J amp K Smit in Slikkerveer and Camphuys at Huijgens and van Gelder in Amsterdam 2 Routes editThe line s routes beyond the home islands included services to the ports of Singapore and Hong Kong Shanghai Manila Saigon the Australian ports of Brisbane Sydney Melbourne and Adelaide African ports such as Durban East London Port Elizabeth Mossel Bay Cape Town Zanzibar Mombasa and the Indian Ocean ports of Reunion and Mauritius and Mahe 5 First World War editThe Netherlands were neutral in the First World War However in March 1918 the UK seized under angary numerous Dutch ships in ports of the British Isles and the British Empire They included the KPM ships Pijnacker Hordijk Rochussen s Jacob Tasman Van Heemskerk and Van Waerwijck In September 1918 U 46 sank Tasman by torpedo in the North Atlantic killing 14 of her crew 6 The UK returned the remaining ships to KPM in 1919 7 8 9 10 11 12 Between the wars edit nbsp The motor ship Ruys early in 1938 around the time when she was completed Until the 1920s every KPM ship was smaller than 5 000 GRT and they were built for economy not speed Between the two World Wars KPM continued to concentrate on small ships but added a small number of larger ships for some of its major routes A pair of twin screw turbine ships Nieuw Holland and Nieuw Zeeland were launched in 1927 and completed in 1928 Each was about 11 000 GRT and had a speed of 15 knots 28 km h 13 14 Three triple screw motor ships were launched in 1937 named Boissevain Tegelberg and Ruys after KPM s founders Each was about 14 000 GRT and had a speed of 17 knots 31 km h 15 16 17 To advance tourism in Indonesia the company built a hotel on Bali in 1928 launching a tourist trade in the region 18 Second World War edit nbsp The turbine ship Nieuw Zeeland In May 1940 Germany invaded the Netherlands In August 1940 the UK Ministry of War Transport MoWT chartered Nieuw Zeeland and Nieuw Holland for conversion into troop ships 13 14 Operating in and near the East Indies KPM avoided war losses until February 1941 when Admiral Scheer shelled the cargo ship Rantaupandjang in the Indian Ocean wounding four of her crew Rantaupandjang surrendered and a German boarding party scuttled her Admiral Scheer interned Rantaupandjang s crew two of whom died of wounds they sustained in the shelling 19 In December 1941 Japan invaded the Dutch East Indies KPM ships helped the Dutch British and Australian warships to defend Singapore In the Battle of the Java Sea KPM ships carried ammunition The Royal Netherlands Navy chartered several KPM ships to support the defense of the Netherlands East Indies and Singapore against the Japanese invasion 20 KPM ships took part in the first months of war in the Pacific theatre moving supplies and troops In January 1942 RMS Aquitania was to take troops from Australia to Singapore until concern about putting such a large and valued troopship laden with 3 456 troops in range of Japanese air strikes led to a change of plan Aquitania escorted by the cruiser HMAS Canberra left Sydney on 10 January and arrived at Ratai Bay in the Sunda Strait on 20 January There her troops were distributed among the KPM ships Both Reael Reijnst Sloet van de Beele Van der Lijn and Van Swoll and the UK registered ship Taishan The convoy reached Singapore on 24 January 21 In March 1942 Japan overran Java which all but completed its conquest of the Dutch East Indies 21 KPM ships laden with refugees reached Australian ports The ships were incorporated into a fleet being assembled by United States Forces in Australia USFIA which was soon redesignated as US Army Forces in Australia USAFIA and later the US Army Services of Supply USASOS to support the defense of Australia and campaign against the Japanese in the South West Pacific Area SWPA 22 Early in 1942 The 21 KPM ships were chartered for US Army use and became known as the KPM vessels in the SWPA fleet 23 The means by which these vessels were brought under control of the SWPA command was complex and involved discussions with the Dutch government in exile in both London and Washington as well as in Australia At first the 21 ships that reached Australia were chartered by the Chief Quartermaster USAFIA on 26 March 1942 with long term details to be negotiated at higher levels 24 The eventual decision involving governments in London Washington and the Combined Chiefs of Staff was that the charters would be handled by the British MoWT for the US Army The complex arrangement was a bareboat charter to MoWT and through the War Shipping Administration WSA the ships were assigned by WSA to the Army but not repeat not on bareboat but on gross basis though under full control of the Army 25 In early March 1943 almost half the permanent local fleet comprised KPM vessels On 6 March 1943 nearly 16 months after the beginning of the war the permanent local fleet consisted of 43 vessels the 21 KPM vessels obtained on 26 March 1942 and the 6 additional KPM vessels obtained on 19 January 1943 3 vessels from the China Navigation Co Ltd Anhui Hanyang and Yochow the Empire Hamble formerly Thepsatri Nawa previously Admiral Senn of Siamese registry assigned 15 October 1942 the Admiral Halstead West Cactus assigned 20 May 1942 and Portmar salvaged and reconditioned in 1942 by port battalion troops of US registry and 9 unnamed Liberty ships which probably were in temporary service Coast Farmer had been sunk on 21 July 1942 and Dona Nati had been withdrawn 26 The 21 original ships were Balikpapan 1938 Bantam 1930 Bontekoe 1922 Both 1931 Cremer 1926 Generaal Verspijck 1928 Janssens 1935 Japara 1930 Karsik 1938 Khoen Hoea 1924 Note 1 Maetsuycker 1936 s Jacob 1907 Sibigo 1926 27 Stagen 1919 Swartenhondt 1924 Tasman 1921 Van den Bosch 1903 Van der Lijn 1928 Van Heemskerk 1909 Van Heutsz 1926 and Van Spilbergen 1908 28 nbsp Wreck of the cargo ship Bantam Oro Bay New Guinea On the night of 11 12 December 1942 Karsik escorted by HMAS Lithgow was the first large ship to arrive at Oro Bay She delivered four Stuart light tanks which were then taken by barges and landed within miles of the battlefront at Buna 29 30 31 Mayo notes the fact a large ship had arrived and thus the supply line had opened as having perhaps even greater significance than the arrival of the tanks 31 The subsequent routine supply runs of Operation Lilliput supporting the Allied campaign were with few exceptions made by the KPM ships some of which were damaged or lost 29 32 nbsp Maetsuycker was the Southwest Pacific Area inter base hospital ship Two of the ships Maetsuycker and Tasman were converted to hospital ships to handle casualties in the New Guinea campaign 33 Both ships though under United States Army control were Dutch registered and certified as hospital ships under the Hague Convention by the Dutch government in exile 34 Losses edit Nearly 100 KPM ships were sunk by enemy action with the loss of more than a thousand lives Most of the losses were in 1942 That January Van Imhoff left the Dutch East Indies and headed for Colombo in Ceylon carrying several hundred German internees On 19 January Japanese aircraft sank her west of Sumatra killing 413 people 35 On 26 February Rooseboom left Batavia carrying 500 evacuees including 250 British soldiers headed for Padang on Sumatra On 1 March I 59 sank her by torpedo killing about 500 of the people aboard Only six people survived 36 The largest ship that KPM lost was Nieuw Zeeland In November 1942 she carried troops for Operation Torch the Allied invasion of French North Africa She reached Oran on 8 November and landed 1 933 troops but on 11 November U 380 sank her by torpedo as she was approaching the Strait of Gibraltar on her return voyage 14 members of her crew were killed and another four died of wounds after being rescued 37 Post war editWith the declaration of independence and the establishment of Indonesia as a nation in 1945 and 1949 respectively the highly profitable KPM remained under Dutch ownership and management KPM became a major focus for Indonesian activists seeking to reduce Dutch influence in the post colonial economy After competing with the national Pelayaran Nasional Indonesia National Indonesian Shipping line and demonstrations by the trade union laborers on 3 December 1957 KPM was faced with nationalization and so decided to move its headquarters and international shipping assets to Singapore in 1958 1 38 39 From that base KPM bought control of Maatschappij Zeetransport the Oranje Lijn of Rotterdam thus entering the European Canadian trade This effort was unsuccessful so KPM sold its Oranje Lijn holdings and the company was liquidated KPM itself continued until 1 January 1967 when it merged with the Koninklijke Java China Paketvaart Lijnen KJCPL of Amsterdam Crews and ships continued service with other lines until finally all former KPM elements were taken over by Nedlloyd in 1977 1 The company later merged into Nedlloyd which in turn merged into P amp O Nedlloyd which became part of Maersk Line Footnotes edit Ship was built for Thong Ek Steamship Co specifically designed for the Singapore Pontianak Borneo trade and chartered to KPM sometime in 1940 Evacuated part of ABDA naval staff from Java to Australia Gill 1957 p 627 References edit a b c Swiggum amp Kohli 2010 a b De Koninklijke Paketwaart Maatschappij Bataviaasch Handelsblad 16 January 1891 p 1 via Delpher Vickers 2005 p 20 Lintsen 1993 p 97 Larsson 2011 Helgason Gudmundur Tasman uboat net Retrieved 13 July 2023 Pijnacker Hordijk ID 5164 Stichting Maritiem Historische Databank in Dutch Retrieved 13 July 2023 Rochussen ID 5541 Stichting Maritiem Historische Databank in Dutch Retrieved 13 July 2023 s Jacob ID 8558 Stichting Maritiem Historische Databank in Dutch Retrieved 13 July 2023 Tasman ID 6417 Stichting Maritiem Historische Databank in Dutch Retrieved 13 July 2023 Van Heemskerk ID 6883 Stichting Maritiem Historische Databank in Dutch Retrieved 13 July 2023 Van Waerwijck ID 6915 Stichting Maritiem Historische Databank in Dutch Retrieved 13 July 2023 a b Nieuw Zeeland ID 4637 Stichting Maritiem Historische Databank in Dutch Retrieved 13 July 2023 a b Nieuw Holland ID 4636 Stichting Maritiem Historische Databank in Dutch Retrieved 13 July 2023 Boissevain ID 1032 Stichting Maritiem Historische Databank in Dutch Retrieved 13 July 2023 Tegelberg ID 6430 Stichting Maritiem Historische Databank in Dutch Retrieved 13 July 2023 Ruys ID 5623 Stichting Maritiem Historische Databank in Dutch Retrieved 13 July 2023 Silver 2007 page needed Rantaupandjang ID 5411 Stichting Maritiem Historische Databank in Dutch Retrieved 13 July 2023 Bekker 1950 page needed Gill 1957 p 524 Masterson 1949 pp 320 338 Bykofsky amp Larson 1990 pp 449 450 Masterson 1949 pp 322 323 Masterson 1949 p 336 Masterson 1949 p 338 Australian Emergency Management Knowledge Hub Archived from the original on 12 October 2013 Retrieved 12 October 2013 Masterson 1949 p 322 a b Masterson 1949 pp 588 589 Gill 1968 pp 244 245 a b Mayo 1968 p 82 Gill 1968 pp 262 268 Masterson 1949 p 348 Smith 1956 p 410 Van Imhoff ID 6890 Stichting Maritiem Historische Databank in Dutch Retrieved 13 July 2023 Rooseboom ID 5579 Stichting Maritiem Historische Databank in Dutch Retrieved 13 July 2023 Helgason Gudmundur Nieuw Zeeland uboat net Retrieved 13 July 2023 Lindblad 2011 p 14 Telegram From the US Embassy in Indonesia to the Department of State Djakarta 10 December 1957 2 p m Cited works editBekker H Th 1950 De K P M in oorlogstijd 1939 1945 Amsterdam J H de Bussy Bykofsky Joseph Larson Harold 1990 1957 The Technical Services The Transportation Corps Operations Overseas PDF United States Army in World War II Washington DC Center of Military History United States Army Archived from the original PDF on 27 September 2012 Retrieved 6 December 2016 Gill G Hermon 1957 Royal Australian Navy 1939 1942 Australia in the War of 1939 1945 Series 2 Navy Vol 1 Canberra Australian War Memorial Archived from the original on 25 May 2009 Gill G Hermon 1968 Royal Australian Navy 1939 1942 Australia in the War of 1939 1945 Series 2 Navy Vol 2 Canberra Australian War Memorial Archived from the original on 27 September 2013 Retrieved 18 July 2013 Larsson Bjorn 2 April 2011 KPM Line Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij Royal Packet Navigation Co Maritime Timetable Images Retrieved 13 May 2013 Lindblad J Thomas 2011 The Economic Decolonisation of Indonesia a Bird s eye View Journal of Indonesian Social Sciences and Humanities 4 1 20 doi 10 14203 jissh v4i0 71 Retrieved 25 May 2013 Lintsen HW 1993 Geschiedenis van de techniek in Nederland De wording van een moderne samenleving 1800 1890 Deel IV Masterson James R 1949 U S Army Transportation In The Southwest Pacific Area 1941 1947 Washington DC Transportation Unit Historical Division Special Staff US Army Mayo Lida 1968 The Technical Services The Ordnance Department On Beachhead And Battlefront United States Army In World War II Washington DC Center Of Military History United States Army LCCN 79014631 Silver Christopher 2007 Tourism Cultural Heritage and Human Rights in Indonesia The Challenges of an Emerging Democratic Society In Silverman Helaine Ruggles D Fairchild eds Cultural heritage and human rights New York Springer ISBN 978 0387713137 OCLC 187048155 Smith Clarence McKittrick 1956 The Technical Services The Medical Department Hospitalization And Evacuation Zone of Interior United States Army in World War II Washington DC Center of Military History United States Army LCCN 55060005 Swiggum Susan Kohli Marjorie 21 September 2010 Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij 1888 1967 The ShipsList US Embassy in Indonesia 10 December 1957 Telegram From the U S Embassy in Indonesia to the Department of State Djakarta December 10 1957 2 p m US Department of State Retrieved 25 May 2013 Vickers Adrian 2005 A History of Modern Indonesia Cambridge University Press ISBN 0 521 54262 6 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij 1888 1967 TheShipsList 21 September 2010 Documents and clippings about Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij in the 20th Century Press Archives of the ZBW Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Koninklijke Paketvaart Maatschappij amp oldid 1203026873, wikipedia, wiki, 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