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German North Sea Coast and Islands
Ballin's Dampfschiff-Rheederei-Gesellschaft / Nordsee-Linie Dampfschiffahrts AG
Founded in 1889 by Albert Ballin, who was the director and driving force of the HAPAG company's ocean liner business and as such, one of the most important businessmen in Imperial Germany, to serve Germany's seaside resorts from Hamburg. The company became the Nordsee-Linie in 1897 before being absorbed into the HAPAG company in 1904.
Poster advertising Ballin's daily Imperial mail service (Post card from the Gordon Stewart collection)

PADDLE STEAMERS

Freia (1889-1896) 
Cobra (1890) 
Ariadne (1890)
Flamingo (1892-1895)

Prinzessin Heinrich (1896)

Prinzess Elisabeth - sailed on charter in 1895
Prins Hendrik - sailed on charter in 1895-1896
Prinses Marie - sailed on charter in 1896-1898

Vessels passing to HAPAG in 1904 : Cobra and Prinzessin Heinrich - also SS Silvana, TS Kaiser (in construction at time of takeover)
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Freia
Launched on May 20th 1885 by Blohm & Voss at Hamburg
Dimensions : 71.9 x 8.1 metres
683 Gross Registered Tonnes
Operated by her builders, Blohm & Voss from Hamburg to Helgoland with occasional extensions to Wyk (on the island Foehr) after her original specifiers cancelled their order.
Sailed on charter for HTM on their Ostend - Dover ferry route in the winter of 1885/6 but otherwise spent winters on charter in the Riviera.
Purchased in 1889 by the Ballin Shipping Company for their services to Helgoland
Sold to JF Braunlich of Stettin in 1896, she was substantialy altered, being increased to 858 GRT
Sailed from Stettin to the coastal and the island of Rugen and also on the sea crossing to Trelleborg in Sweden

Cobra 
Launched on March 2nd 1889 by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering at Glasgow, Scotland
Dimensions: 80.7 m x 10.1 m
847 Gross Registered Tonnes
Dimensions: 80.7 m x 10.1 m :  847 GRT
Engine : Compound diagonal 50 and 92 in x 66 in
Ordered by the Burns Line of Glasgow which dominated the Glasgow to Northern Ireland trade
Not taken into the Burns fleet she was briefly owned by North Wales interests and named  St Tudno
Sold almost immediately during 1890 to the Ballin company at Hamburg and named Cobra
From 1897 her owners traded as Nordsee-Linie before being taken over by HAPAG in 1905
Served her summers on the Hamburg to Helgoland and Sylt service
In the winter of 1902-1903 she sailed under charter out of Genoa, Italy
Also spent winters at Nice, France sailing for HAPAG (Compangnie Hambourgeoise Americaine) Service de la Riviera.
Reboilered and refurbished in 1919 but passed to French owners as war reparations
HAPAG repurchased the vessel in 1920 but her time was short, being sold in December 1921 to breakers.
Ariadne

Launched on May 15th 1889 by J McArthur & Co of Paisley, UK
Dimensions : 210 ft 8 in  (67 metres) x 13.1 ft (7 m)
Engines : Compound diagonal : 31 and 57 in x 60 in by Bow, McLachlan of Paisley
318 GRT
Operated by Edwards & Robertson on the Bristol Channel, UK as Lady Gwendoline
Sold in 1890 to Albert Ballin Shipping Company of Hamburg, Germany and renamed Ariadne
Operated as an ocean liner tender ship on charter to HAPAG at Cherbourg, France in 1895
Remained at Cherbourg under various owners
Siezed by the French government in World War I and used as a hospital ship at Thessaloniki
Sold at the end of the war and renamed Milas
Sold to Istanbul in 1924 and renamed Denizli and later Hayrullah
Scrapped in 1926

Flamingo

Launched on June 15th 1875 by John Elder & Co, Govan, Scotland
Dimensions: 67 x 7.7 m
Twin cylinder oscillating engines : 41 and 72 in x 60 in
483 GRT
Built for the London, Brighton & South Coast Railway Company as Paris
In 1888 she was sold to the Fairfield Shipbuilding & Engineering Company of Govan, Scotland
In 1892 she was sold to Ballin for service between Hamburg and Helgoland and renamed Flamingo
In 1895 she was sold to R Barnwell of Glasgow
In 1897 she was sold to WM Rhodes of London and renamed La Belgique
In 1902 she was sold to David McBrayne and renamed Glendale
Wrecked at Cove Point, Mull of Kintyre, Scotland on July 20th 1905 whilst on passage from Glasgow to the isle of Islay

Prinzessin Heinrich
Launched on April 11th 1896 by Blohm & Voss at Hamburg
Engines : Triple Expansion
Dimensions: 76.3 x 8.3 m
919 Gross Registered Tonnes
Built for Ballin's Steamship Company of Hamburg which in the next year became the Nordsee-Linie GmbH
Chartered to HAPAG in 1904 for whom she spent winter months on the French & Italian Riviera
HAPAG took over the Nordsee-Linie in 1905 and continued with the winter Riviera programme until the outbreak of World War I
Laid up at Hamburg and used as a hospital ship during World War I
Reactivated for a short period in 1919 and in 1920 was moved to East Prussia to sail for Seedienst Ostpreussen
Sold for scrapping in 1923
Prins Hendrik

Launched on March 25th 1880 by J Elder & Co at Govan, Scotland
Dimensions : 84.95 x 10.67 metres
Two cylinder compound oscillating engines : 60 and 104 in x 84 in
In service for Stoomvaart Maatschappij Zeeland for their North Sea service from Vlissingen to Queenborough
Chartered to Albert Ballin for their busy Helgoland trade in 1895 and 1896
Scrapped in 1902
Prinses Marie 
Launched on December 10th 1877 by J Elder & Co at Govan, Scotland
Dimensions : 84.79 x 10.69 metres
1566 Gross Registered Tonnes
Ordered by the Stoomvaart Maatschappij Zeeland of Vlissingen, Netherlands as Prinses Marie
Placed on the route from its home port to Queenborough in England
Sailed in 1896 under charter to Ballin, for the Hamburg-Helgoland service
Sold in December 1898 to JF Braunlich for service out of Stettin to Sassnitz and also to Trelleborg in Sweden and renamed Germania
Sold for scrapping in 1902
Prinzess Elisabeth
Launched on December 10th 1877 by J Elder & Co at Govan, Scotland
Dimensions : 84.79 x 10.69 metres
1652 Gross Registered Tonnes
Ordered by the Stoomvaart Maatschappij Zeeland of Vlissingen, Netherlands as Prinses Elisabeth
Placed on the route from its home port to Queenborough in England
Sailed in 1896 under charter to Ballin, for the Hamburg-Helgoland service
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German North Sea Coast and Islands : Hamburg operators