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Alvracht shipping (The Netherlands)

Algemeen Vrachtkantoor

image by Jarig Bakker, 11 Oct 2006

Algemeen Vrachtkantoor
Alvracht old flag
Alvracht pennant

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Algemeen Vrachtkantoor

Algemeen Vrachtkantoor aka Alvracht is a Dutch inland shipping company, which is no longer in operation, in fact a short but informative history has disappeared from the ‘net – for the moment still available in a Google cache, the original url being: vegoil.vopak.com/about_us/histbarging.html
Highlights: in 1918, Dutch butter manufacturers Simon van den Bergh and Anton Jurgens decided to cooperate and to found a common company ensuring constant supply of raw materials: ‘Algemeen Vrachtkantoor NV’ (i.e. General Freight Office Ltd) followed by the merger, in 1927, of both factories into Margarine Unie which was to become Unilever in 1930 after yet another merger with a British firm, Lever Brothers. The nine available barges started to work for the group. ‘Algemeen Vrachtkantoor’, now a subsidiary, worked mainly for Unilever (transport of vegetable oils) during the period 1936-1989 but also for other customers.
In 1989 AV and Unilever-owned ‘Elbe’ from Germany were sold to Federal Express only to be sold again to Van Ommeren two years later. When Van Ommeren and Pakhoed joined forces in 1999, the ‘vegetable oil fleet’ - as the article has it - went to the Barging division of Vopak Vegoil Logistics.But Vopak, and here I am done highlighting, is another chapter and so is Van Ommeren!

The house flag – or such as it was when Algemeen Vrachtkantoor disappeared – was white with a striking logo consisting of three chevrons, differently positoned, and coloured blue, black, and green, probably recalling initials. See it on this Binnenvaart page (drawing) concerning ‘Columbia’, the former ‘Alvracht 20’. Click on the camera logo near ‘1970’ at the bottom of the page, which will lead you to a photo showing the flag as well as the chevrons on the bow of the vessel.
Jan Mertens, 11 Oct 2006

Alvracht old flag

image by Jos Telleman, 12 Nov 2006

Jos Telleman sent me the old flag of "Algemeen Vrachtkantoor" (General Freight Office): a white flag, at the hoist three narrow vertical stripes of blue, orange and blue; in center blue disk, charged with orange "AVK".
Jarig Bakker, 12 Nov 2006

Alvracht pennant

image by Jos Telleman, 16 Nov 2006

Another image sent by Jos Telleman: The pennant of Alvracht: a burgee of three equally wide horizontal stripes of orange and blue; on blue "ALVRACHT" in white.
Jarig Bakker, 16 Nov 2006