The 3063-ton steamship Koning der Nederlanden was built in Scotland at the John Elder & Company shipyard in Govan.

SS Koning der Nederlanden (King of the Netherlands) helped move passengers, freight and mail between Amsterdam and the Dutch East Indies.

The company's ships maintained regular passenger and freight traffic between the Netherlands and the Dutch East Indies.

On Tuesday 4 October 1881, the ship's drive shaft broke in the middle of the Indian Ocean, while on the way from Batavia to Amsterdam, allowing water into the vessel.

Of the six lifeboats launched from the steamship, three were found and rescued, but the remaining three boats, with a total of 90 passengers and crew, disappeared without trace.