^{This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website}

Dutch Houseflags of Shipping Companies [m]

Mars Steamtugs
MES
Millingen
Minoltra
Moerman Kustvaart
Mijnster

See also:

Mars Steamtugs

image by Jarig Bakker, 1 Mar 2006

This firm is mentioned briefly in "Duwvaart" by Jansen & Van Heck on p. 89 as one of several firms taken over by the well-known Smit International.
Stoomsleepdienst (Steam Towage Service) Mars flew a green – almost square - flag bearing a large white five-pointed star, shown in b/w in above book.
The company emblem appears on this book cover of "De sleepboten van NV Stoomsleepdienst Maas en Stoomsleepdienst Mars" by J. Toussaint. The blurb mentions that both firms were taken over by Smit in 1972.
The star also shows up on a funnel in some of these photos.
These examples indicate that Stoomsleepdienst Mars may indeed have used a square or squarish house flag, which is rather unusual..
Jan Mertens, 26 Feb 2006

Some sources seem to indicate the use of a square, or an almost square, flag but the Binnenvaart site shows a pennant and another Tugspotter photo shows a rectangular flag!
See the rectangular flag on this page, last photo (tug ‘Mars V’): and the pennant on Binnenvaart’s house flag page (42th row, third picture).
By the way, the green in these images is rather darker than the one at FOTW-ws.
Jan Mertens, 4 Sep 2006

MES

image by Jarig Bakker, 27 January 2005

Maatschappij to Exploitatie van Stoomvaart, Rotterdam; blue flag, in fly white "M", in canton the Dutch colors..
Source: Brown's Flags and Funnels of British and Foreign Steamship Companies, compiled by F.J.N. Wedge, Glasgow, 1926 [wed26]
Jarig Bakker, 27 January 2005

Millingen

image by Jarig Bakker, 27 January 2005

Scheepvaart Maatschappij Millingen (G.H. Spliethoff), Rotterdam - blue flag, white diamond, blue "M".
Source: Brown's Flags and Funnels of British and Foreign Steamship Companies, compiled by F.J.N. Wedge, Glasgow, 1926 [wed26]
Jarig Bakker, 27 January 2005

Minoltra

image by Jarig Bakker, 23 Jun 2006

This Dutch firm proclaims right away what it is about on the company site - “chartering & riverbarges / for inland coastal transports of mineral oil products and semi-chemical products”. In the ‘Info’ section we learn that Minoltra was founded in 1998 and operates barges between 1000 and 3500 metric tonnes in an area comprising the Benelux countries, France, Germany, and reaching into Switzerland.

Minoltra's business seat is Alblasserdam, a village situated - roughly - between Rotterdam and Dordrecht.

The Vlootschouw site shows the Minoltra houseflag here (vessel ‘Emma’ page): Two large triangles, the upper one blue and the lower one yellow, have their bases on the hoist and define a small black triangular area where they overlap. In the white triangular fly is placed the image of a black vessel on a blue stylized wave, sailing towards the hoist.

For a photo, see Michael Harms’s site, click ‘Gallery’ then ‘Binnenschiffe’, select ‘Tankschiffe’ and once there, the Belgian vessel ‘Arnaud’.
Jan Mertens, 20 Jun 2006

Moerman Kustvaart

image by Jarig Bakker, 13 Feb 2006

Image after Brown's Flags and Funnels Shipping Companies of the World, compiled by J.L. Loughran, Glasgow, 1995 [lgr95] Kustvaartbedrijf Moerman B.V., Schiedam - horizontal VWV flag, in center white disk, green "M".
Jarig Bakker, 13 Feb 2006

Mijnster

image by Jarig Bakker, 10 Jul 2006

‘Mijnster zand– en grinthandel bv’ (Mijnster Sand and Gravel Trading Co.) is a firm established at Gorinchem and Zwijndrecht, river towns not far from Rotterdam, Netherlands.
As explained on its website: Mijnster is not only involved in producing sand and gravel but also in construction, dredging, warehousing and the like, two recent examples being delivering a new kind of gravel mix to serve in railway foundations and strengthening dykes in Zeeland. These activities (see the photos on the site) call for a fleet of specialized vessels.

Details on this fleet are found under ‘vloot’: the names of the various vessels (suction dredgers, transport barges, pontoons, etc.) are clickable, leading to descriptions and photos some of which show the house flag e.g. ‘Taurus’ and ‘Zagri 3’.

Said house flag has a simple design: divided by an ascending diagonal line into yellow (upper) and blue (lower) triangles, bearing a blue initial ‘M’ in the upper hoist and a small yellow four-pointed star in the lower fly.
Jan Mertens, 12 Apr 2006

I just observed the real flag on board the "Devensteyn" with a 5-pointed star on the Kostverlorenvaart in Amsterdam. The "flag" Jan reported is the trademark of the firm, also depicted on the ship's funnel.
Jarig Bakker, 10 Jul 2006