Dutch Houseflags of Shipping Companies [w]

Last modified: 2008-07-26 by jarig bakker
Keywords: wagenborg | walvisvaart | wim | westpolder | wijklijn | wijnne & barends |
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Wagenborg Shipping

Quartered per saltire in red (above and below) and white (hoist and fly). A black chimney with two white stripes longitudinally centered and based at the bottom.
Jorge Candeias, 21 March 1999

(Source: Company's website)
Al Fisher, 13 February 1999

Walvisvaart

Houseflag of N.V. Nederlandsche Maatschappij voor de Walvisvaart, Amsterdam.
Image from Flagchart of houseflags of Dutch shipping companies, attached to the magazine "De Blauwe Wimpel", April 1956.
Jarig Bakker, 1 Feb 2001

Nederlandse Maatschappij voor de Walvischvaart N.V. Other sources [after 1956] show the cantons bands being equal and the letters being separated whilst US Navy 1961 shows a very large "W" only positioned mid fly.
Neale Rosanoski, 25 Sep 2003

Water-Land Bevrachtingen

Spotted by Jarig: a house flag which turns out to be flown by Water-Land Bevrachtingen BV at Franeker, Fryslân.  The name means “Water-Land Freighting” and indeed this company is engaged in inland shipping (freighting, heavy loads transport, and calibration).

Homepage with bedazzled (or dazzling) house flag, the only (slight) difference being the fact that the initials’ upper parts touch the white ring.

Now for a description: horizontally divided blue-white (narrow)-red-white-red-white (narrow)-blue, a thin wavy blue line in the central white stripe, near the hoist a white-rimmed blue disk bearing stylized and joined initials ‘WL’ in white.

If only the webpage flag would keep still – perhaps the white stripe in the middle is somewhat broader than the blue and red ones.

The last of the site's photos (FOTO’s, left menu) shows the flag (the one on the left) flying on the ‘Diligentia'.  See also this Vlootschouw page concerning the ‘Concordia’ (again, the flag on the left).
Proof - again - that smaller firms often have complicated flags...
Jan Mertens, 13 May 2007

van der Wees

More specifically ‘A. van der Wees & Co. B.V. Schroefboot & Transportonderneming’, Dordrecht (the last part meaning ‘Screw-Driven Boat & Transport Company’), this firm is featured in “Duwvaart” by Jansen & Van Heck, pp. 109-111.

Website of the Van der Wees group concerning water transportation, with an English section (click Union Jack) I’m quoting from:
“As a transport company founded in 1907 specializing in transport on the inland waterways between Delft and Dordrecht in The Netherlands, we have grown into a leading player on the European Exceptional Transport Market.
The Roll-on Roll-off principle, widely known on English Channel ferries, has been developed for European river and canal purposes using flattop as well as drive-in pontoons (…)  Our flattop pontoons are all certified for seagoing purposes, enabling us to carry out international transport crossing North European seas or beyond. (…)  In addition to executing transports of for instance transformers, turbines, harbour cranes, vessels, columns and airplanes we have regularly assisted the installation and removal of bridges and roro link spans.”
Just clicking on the thumbnails in the sections ‘Boten’, ‘Pontons’ and ‘Projecten’ leads you to an impressive array of various sailing and floating vessels.
Jansen & Van Heck give a detailed company history, I’ll just add some highlights to the above.  Founder’s name was Abraham van der Wees. Worked for Shell starting 1917, transporting oil drums.  Engaged in passenger transport immediately after WWII as bridges, roads and railways were damaged.  Push navigation since 1961.  Relocated from Delft to Dordrecht in 1970.
The flag as shown by above authors in b/w is described as being brown with a yellow initial W plus yellow waves and curlicues (placed beneath the letter). As the
Van der Wees group also has an interest in road transport, we find both means of transportation symbolized by the waves resp. the wheel shapes.
Jan Mertens, 27 Feb 2006

Wessels, NL version

An unexpected find – although, come to think of it, there is logic in it – the Wessel house flag we already have at the FOTW German pages: in a Dutch version, photo of table flag, identified as belonging to Wessels BV, Rotterdam.
Source: German eBay offer no. 270112804189 (by “kinksraydays”), end 29 April 2007.  As you can see, the design is fundamentally the same – the letters are upright, though – but the national element is present in the form of a Dutch flag image added to the initial-cum-ship ‘W’.
Life-size flags – on photo – can indeed be seen on the website of ‘Rederij (i.e. shipping company) Wessels BV’: "in 1926, when Reinhard Wessels' grandfather ordered a ship at the shipyard Van Diepen B.V. Waterhuizen in Groningen, the first contacts and connections with the Dutch shipping industry were made."
In 1997 Rederij Wessels BV was established at Rotterdam, a prime location fot inland shipping and logistics – gaining over Cyprus, by the way!  The homepage mentions a company quay at the Waalhaven and  fifteen vessels active around Northern Europe and the Mediterranean. Operating the ships is entrusted to Belmont Shipmanagement BV while crewing is assured by Dutch Crewing BV and chartering by Arkon Shipping, Germany (which last firm is partly owned by Wessels).
Jan Mertens, 30 Apr 2007

Wilton-Fijenoord

Ton van Eijk sent me a description of the houseflag of Wilton-Fijenoord (shipbuilding, 1929-1999): vertical red - white - red tapering; on white the WF-emblem (emblem from this site).
Jarig Bakker, 29 Apr 2008

Wijgand Fuel Transport

Found on a Binnenvaart page (click ‘Sponsors’ in left menu), the flag of J.F. Wijgand Fuel Transport, a Dutch bunkering firm (“since 1988”) established at  Dinteloord (Steenbergen), on Noord-Brabant soil but near the Volkerak, one of Zealand's former sea-arms.

On that site (Wijgand does not seem to have one of its own) and is the house flag: white with broad turquoise horizontal edges and what surely is the company logo in the centre.  The top stripe bears the name ‘J.F. Wijgand’ in white, italic and serifed, while the bottom one bears the word ‘Fueltransport’, of similar appearance.
The logo consists of an orange disk, rimmed in turquoise, bearing a monogram ‘JWF’ i.e. white initials ‘JF’ positioned – the ‘J’ somewhat lower than the ‘F’ - above, and partly in front of, a white-rimmed turquoise ‘W’.

A number of Wijgand bunkering vessels, all called Fueltrans (mostly with number added), can be seen on Ben van der Westen’s site - Simply enter ‘wijgand’ in the ‘Eigenaar’ (i.e. owner) box.
Jan Mertens, 22 Dec 2006

Wijgula

Briefly mentioned in “Duwvaart” by Jansen & Van Heck, p. 138, Wijgula really means Wijnhof & Van Gulpen & Larsen. First established in Amsterdam and then 1972-1982 in Nijmegen, the company is now based at Druten.
Company website (with English section) followed by quote from ‘Business profile’:
“Since its establishment in 1922, Wijgula B.V. has become one of the leading inland tank-barging companies specialising in the transportation of various bulk liquid products.  For our customers we manage a fleet of 42 modern tankships varying in size and onboard equipment. Our fleet has a total loading capacity of 49,000 mt and a tank volume of 40,000 cbm.  (…) Wijgula BV Druten is a subsidiary of the Imperial Reederei-Group, in which Imperial Logistics GmbH, Duisburg, has a controlling interest.”
The firm stresses the fact that it uses double-hull tankers.
This page (in Dutch) contains additional information, relating among other things the accidental meeting of a young German, Hans Larsen, with Mr Van Gulpen who ran a chemical business in Amsterdam together with his business partner, Mr Wijnhof.  The three men founded the firm in 1922 and soon started shipping sulphuric acid; other chemical substances were to follow.  (Although the name ‘Wijgula’ recalls their names, in the beginning this was merely the telegraph address.)   In 1991 the company became part of Haniel Reederei in Duisburg, Germany, currently Imperial Reederei.
Jansen & Van Heck show the house flag in b/w and describe it as an orange triangular pennant with a black cylinder (perhaps a drum, jm) bearing white initials ‘WGL’.  Wijgula’s website does not show this pennant very clearly or prominently but the photo on this webpage gives an idea.
Jan Mertens, 2 Mar 2006

Druten is in Gelderland province on the river Waal, opposite the former nuclear plant of Dodewaard, which was closed in the 1970's after huge demonstrations.
Jarig Bakker, 3 Mar 2006

You made a small mistake: Dodewaard was taken into service in 1969 and was closed down in 1997.
Pieter Klein, 20 Jul 2008

Wijklijn

Stoomvaart Maatschappij "Wijklijn", Rotterdam - houseflag: white with a Green St. Andre's Cross; the field at the hoist charged with a black letter "E"; at the fly a black letter "D". Flown 1901-1987; ED stand for Erhardt & Dekkers.
Source: houseflagchart attached to the magazine "De Blauwe Wimpel", April 1956.
Jarig Bakker, 18 Oct 2003

This was only one of the companies under which Erhardt & Dekkers registered their ships, being the most appropriate with vessel names having the suffix “wijk”. For some reason Dutch sources have noted the livery under one or more of these subsidiaries rather than the owner which would be more appropriate.
Neale Rosanoski, 7 Jan 2004

Van Wijngaarden

Van Wijngaarden Marine Services BV at Sliedrecht, on the Beneden ("lower") Merwede River, presents itself as a company operating tugs, tow/push vessels, survey boats, pontoons equipped with cranes, etc.

As the above vessels may be chartered, Van Wijngaarden helps out various dredging and construction companies around the world.  The menu on the left side of the site leads to descriptions and photos, some of them rather impressive, detailing the kinds of services offered.

The company logo is an orange square bearing a blue ‘vW’ monogram, the ‘v’ nestling inside the ‘W’ the left arm of which ends in an arrowpoint. Extended into a rectangle, it serves as the house flag which is seen on the tug ‘IJsselstroom’. I'm afraid the choice of colours is debatable.
Jan Mertens, 29 Apr 2006

...remarkably similar to the logo of Volkswagen!
James Dignan, 22 May 2006

Wijnne & Barends

Wijnne & Barends' Cargadoors- en agentuurkantoren BV. Originated 1855 as Wijnne Barends N.V. changing name at end of last century. The original flag was white with the black letters "W&B" which was changed to the version shown 4/1968. Brown 1978 shows a red version which I would normally regard as a printing error but the Josef  Nüsse's site also shows this coloured flag making its actual existence possible.
Neale Rosanoski, 25 Sep 2003

Image after Brown's Flags and Funnels Shipping Companies of the World, compiled by J.L. Loughran, Glasgow, 1995 [lgr95].
Wijnne & Barends B.V., Delfzijl - triband of white and orange; on orange two narrow bent white lines; at hoist white "W", at fly white "B". The company website shows its logo without top and bottom white stripe, while it has topleft a waving flag with red instead of orange, and clearly visible white bottom and top stripes.
Jarig Bakker, 23 Sep 2005