Regie voor Maritiem Transport
 |
|
| Industry | Passenger transportation |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1846 |
| Defunct | 1997 |
| Headquarters | Ostend, Belgium |
|
Area served
|
English Channel and North Sea |
Regie voor Maritiem Transport was the Belgian state-owned ferry service and operated ferries on the Ostend-Dover route under the name Oostende Lines. For the last few years until its demise in February 1997, the ferries from Ostend went to Ramsgate instead of Dover in partnership with Sally Line.
On 28 February 1997 the Belgian State closed an important and historical period concerning transport of passengers from and to the UK. The first official crossing ever under the Belgian State took place in 1846, a history spanning 151 years.
Service was inaugurated between Ostend and Dover on 4 March 1846, by the paddle steamer Chemin de Fer, which was later renamed Diamant. ·
Owing to the great competition with lines serving Calais, Dunkirk, Zeebrugge, Antwerp, Rotterdam and Hoek van Holland, RMT upgraded their fleet through the years, from paddle steamers to turbine steamers, diesel motor vessels, and finally high speed ferries. Many of the line's ships were built at Antwerp by the shipyard of SA John Cockerill.
A rare accident for the company occurred when the RMT paddle steamers Princesse Henriette and Comtesse de Flandre collided in heavy fog on 29 March 1889 when both attempt to avoid collision with a fishing smack offshore between Ruytingen and Dunkirk. Princesse Henriette struck Comtesse de Flandre on the starboard side, just abaft the paddle box, nearly slicing the vessel in half. The inrush of water caused a boiler explosion, and the Comtesse de Flandre sank with a loss of 15 lives, of whom four were passengers. Princesse Henriette rescued 32 survivors, including 19 passengers. Among the survivors was Jerome Napoleon Bonaparte II.
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Wikipedia