The house flag of Svenska Lloyd Rederi A/B, Gothenburg. A rectangular white flag with a blue Maltese cross in the centre. The flag is made of cotton fabric and is machine sewn. A rope and clip is attached. The house flag was originally yellow with a blue saltire. The present design was substituted at the time of the First World War because of the resemblance between the old design and the Russian naval ensign.

Svenska Lloyd Rederi was formed in 1869 by Swedish engineer F Hansson Keillers and JF Olsson in Gothenburg, Sweden. The company purchased the Thule Line in 1916, and began regular passenger services between Gothenburg, London and Newcastle, which was the only direct route to Sweden from England at the time. The London-Gothenburg service continued until 1966. The company purchased two large diesel ferries after World War II, the ‘Saga 2’ and the ‘Patricia 2’, built for summer service between London and Gothenburg, but were sold in 1956 due to decreased demand. Swedish Lloyd joined forces with Ellerman’s Wilson Line and Stockholm Rederi to form ELS, which began vehicle ferry services in the late 1960’s. Around this time the company also introduced the Tor Line, aimed at a younger clientele and serving Immingham in the UK, Amsterdam and Gothenburg. In the 1970’s, Swedish Lloyd began services between Southampton and Bilbao, Spain. Each ELS company eventually dropped out of passenger services in the late 1970’s, however the Tor Line is still operating as its own entity, operating a shipping service in Northern Europe.