House flag, Nederland Lloyd

The house flag of Nederland Lloyd, Rotterdam. A white flag with a blue saltire overall with a red diamond bearing a white letter 'N' placed in the centre. The flag is made of a wool and synthetic fibre bunting. It has a cotton hoist and is machine sewn. A rope is attached.

The company was formed in 1948 by the Nederland Steamship Company set up in 1870 to run services to the Dutch East Indies through the Suez Canal and the Royal Rotterdam Lloyd, originally formed in 1837. Each firm contributed 25 ships to a new company known as the Nedlloyd Line. It set up routes between India and the Gulf of Mexico. The company also continued to operate the well established routes to Java and the Dutch East Indies.
In 1954 a ‘round-the-world’ cargo service was introduced, followed by a similar passenger service in 1957. In 1960 routes were introduced to include Japan and Singapore. Routes were also run to Jeddah for Mecca pilgrims.
The independence of Indonesia saw a gradual decline in trade between the Holland and the east, and with the advent of cheap air travel the company saw a decline in its passenger routes. Passenger services were withdrawn in 1970.
In 1996 the company merged with P&O Containers, to form P&O Nedlloyd.