The line was established by the Nederlandsche Stoomboot Maatschappij (known as NSM and in English as Netherlands Steamship Company).
The original boat on the service was the wooden paddle steamer De Batavier (built 1829).
[2] Also beginning in 1899, the Batavier Line service between Rotterdam and London was offered daily except Sundays.
[2] During the early stages of World War I, the line continued service, but the ships were sometime subjected to being stopped by German submarines.
[2] A newer Batavier III, added in 1939 to replace the 1902 ship of the same name, was also seized by the Germans and later mined.