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SHV (The Netherlands)

Steenkolen Handels-Vereeniging (Coal Trading Association)

[Steenkolen Handels-Vereeniging houseflag]

image by Jarig Bakker, 24 Jul 2008

Steenkolen Handels-Vereeniging
SHV pennant

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Steenkolen Handels-Vereeniging

Quoting from the Dutch company SHV’s homepage, English version: “SHV originated in 1896 in the Netherlands from a merger between a number of large coal trading companies, some of which had been active since the 18th century. After the decline of coal as the primary source of energy, halfway through the twentieth century, SHV decided to move into other business areas.”

SHV means ‘Steenkolen Handels-Vereeniging’ (i.e. Coal Trading Association). First established at Utrecht, “SHV was and remained for many years a frontrunner in the development and modernisation of the Rotterdam harbour. SHV was the first company to use onshore bridges for loading and unloading coal. In 1913 the head office of SHV moved to its current location in Utrecht. SHV also had offices in Amsterdam and Rotterdam.” (Quote from the ‘History’ section.)
And: “after 1945 SHV’s Rhine-fleet used for transportation of coal was incorporated in its subsidiary NRV (N.V. Nederlandsche Rijnvaart Vereniging) at the time the biggest inland waterway shipping company in the world.”

Let us concentrate - for the moment - on that period, noting in passing that the transportation of oil was to become more important than that of coal.
Barge ‘PAM 31’ – built in 1951 - featured on the Binnenvaart site flies the house flag which also appears in the 1925 Rotterdam source: divided per ascending diagonal: white hoist bearing crossed miners’ hammers (placed parallel to the diagonal), orange fly bearing large white initials ‘SHV’ (also placed parallel to the diagonal).

There was a pennant as well, shown in ‘Flaggen auf dem Rhein’ (1952 ed.). The design is similar, shifting the hammers to upper hoist and placing the initials – a lot thinner, at least in this rendering – horizontally.
Barge ‘PAM 34’ – built in 1958 - apparently flies it (b/w Binnenvaart photo); and this page also shows the pennant as a drawing. (These two were selected from a number of Binnenvaart SHV pics.).
Jan Mertens, 22 Jul 2008

Talbot-Booth (1937) lists it as "Nederlandsche Zeerederij" (Dutch Seashipping).
Jarig Bakker, 24 Jul 2008

Steenkolen Handels-Vereeniging pennant

image by Jarig Bakker, 24 Jul 2008