the SS Patroclus, Blue Funnel Line

 

The SS Patroclus, a 5,509-ton ship from 1896, one of four ships of this name that the Blue Funnel Line operated at different times.  This British line, officially Alfred Holt and Company, existed from 1866 to 1988. The main operating subsidiary was the Ocean Steam Ship Company, which owned and operated the majority of the company's vessels.

A Dutch subsidiary, the Nederlandsche Stoomvaart Maatschappij Oceaan, was founded in 1891. The company acquired the competing China Mutual Steam Navigation Company in 1902, keeping it on the books as a separate company but operating it as part of the Blue Funnel Line.