The ships of the colonial navy (Indische Militaire Marine) were meant for transport and flotilla services.

[3] In the early 1870s the demands that a war against Aceh would place upon the colonial navy were severely underestimated.

Of this increase 1,400,000 guilders were meant for four steamships 4th class; 720,000 for two iron paddle steamers and 200,000 for ten steam launches.

In a longer comment on the budget change, the government noted that the ships of the Indische Militaire Marine were made out of oak, and therefore not suitable for long service in the tropics.

Due to extensive usage the number of seaworthy ships of that navy would soon be reduced to only 5: Borneo, Sumatra, Banka, Timor and Soerabaija.

The four composite built ships of the Riouw type and the Sumatara steam paddle vessel would leave for the Indies in 1873.

As regards spaciousness and ventilation they did not suffer from the defects of the old steam ships fourth class, and offered the officers and men lodgings suitable to the Indian climate.

They were especially recommended for 'station duty' (stationsdienst, many outposts had a ship posted in place for a long time) because of their moderate coal consumption.

A good reason to prefer these screw steam ships fourth class at a time when recruiting became ever more difficult.

In retrospective there was a comment that while Isaäc Dignus Fransen van de Putte was naval minister a.i.

She had the same dimensions, displacement and nominal power as the rest of the class,[6][1] but she was built for the Dutch navy.

In the May 1874 'final' budget for the navy the minister stated: The ships of the 3rd and 4th class are to be built like the Alkmaar and Aruba according to the composite system.

[7] The ships of the Pontiak class were to join in executing the five tasks of the navy during the Aceh war.

[2] The absence of a keel, and the 'rather full lines' mentioned above offer a logical explanation for the sailing characteristics.