It was the commercial iron dry dock for the shipping line of Cores de Vries, built by Randolph, Elder and Co. After being assembled in the Indies, she sunk during her trial in Surabaya in 1863.

Since 1 January 1869 civilian ships were no longer allowed in the government dry docks of the East Indies.

An exception was made for the ships of the Nederlands Indische Stoomvaart Maatschappij (NISM), which executed a government task.

In the early 1870s the Nederlands Indische Droogdok Maatschappij (NIDM) or Netherlands Indies Drydock Company was founded.

This company and the investors involved demanded that the dry docks would be made by English shipbuilders.

[9][10] After completion the parts of Batavia Dock were sent to the Dutch East Indies in multiple shipments.

[9] A major part of transport would be done by the new big (3,500 tons) SS Prinses Amalia of the Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland (SMN).

After a delay of about a month, Prinses Amalia left the Clyde on 6 June for Nieuwediep (Den Helder).

She brought 1118 pieces of machinery, and 3,000 piculs stones for 'The dry dock company' to Batavia.

[19] In November 1874 there were riots with the local population on Amsterdam Island, caused by the behavior of one of the employees of the contractor.

On 22 November 1876 a select company headed by the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies steamed to Amsterdam Island to witness the launch of Batavia Dock.

The launch took place without the towers being connected,[23] so one can doubt that a successful would have meant that the dry dock would have been operational before the end of the year.

The steamers Amboina and Batavia had been chartered to pull the dry dock from the slipway at seven o'clock in the morning.

While preparations were made the dock suddenly started to move, and except for the stern, she was in the water before the steamers had arrived.

[27] Meanwhile, a bed had been made on the sea bottom so that if the dry dock would sink by accident, it would not be damaged, and could easily be lifted.

Next the dock slowly started to sink deeper till only the top of part of her visible.

This would be done by Raalte, Behrend & Co immediately providing about 15,000 GBP in cash to bring at least the smaller dock into operation.

In return NIDM would give Raalte, Behrend & Co another opportunity to lift and deliver Batavia Dock.

[31] If Batavia Dock would be lifted and delivered within a certain time frame, Raalte, Behrend & Co would receive 523 shares of 1,000 guilders each in the NIDM.

[31] Meanwhile, the operations of guarantor City of Glasgow Bank had been suspended in November 1877, and had been followed by a spectacular collapse on 2 October 1878.

It subsequently led to the bankruptcy of shipyard Hanna, Donald & Wilson, subcontractor for Raalte, Behrend & Co. One can therefore doubt that the above contract was fulfilled.

In 1880 Raalte, Behrend & Co gave up its attempts to lift the big dock, and paid the indemnities of 100,000 guilders connected to the third case above.

The inner width between the towers should allow a peddle-steamer with a beam of 100 feet over the peddle boxes, to use the dock.

She should be stable enough to hold a complete warship while the wind blew from one side with a force of 30 English pounds per square foot.

It's likely that after the ties with Raalte, Behrend & Co had been broken in 1880, the NIDM made her own attempts to lift Batavia Dock.

[35] Volharding Dock was then transferred to the new Maatschappij tot Exploitatie van Droogdokken en Scheepstimmerwerven in Nederlands-Indië.

The wreck of Batavia Dock was also on the south side of the island, and mentioned as a danger to shipping.