MS Christiaan Huygens

History
Netherlands
Name	Christiaan Huygens
Namesake	Christiaan Huygens
Owner	Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland
Operator	Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland Orient Line (1940–45)
Port of registry	Amsterdam (1927–40) Batavia (1940–44)[Note 1] Willemstad (1944–45)[Note 2]
Route	Amsterdam – Batavia (1928–39)
Builder	NSM, Amsterdam
Yard number	186
Laid down	13 March 1926[1]
Launched	28 September 1927[1]
Completed	December 1927[1]
Maiden voyage	28 February 1928
Out of service	26 August 1945
Identification	code letters NJWV (1927-34) call sign PDKD (1934-45)
Fate	Struck a mine and broke in two 26 August 1945
General characteristics
Type	Ocean liner, troopship
Tonnage	15,704 GRT, 9,319 NRT
Length	168.07 m (551.4 ft)
Beam	20.97 m (68.8 ft)
Draught	12.12 m (39 ft 9 in)
Depth	11.03 m (36.2 ft)
Decks	3
Installed power	2,490 NHP, 5,800 bhp
Propulsion	2 × screw propellers 2 × two-stroke diesel engines
Speed	16 knots (30 km/h)
Capacity	638 passengers
Troops	3,178
Crew	230

Christiaan Huygens was a Dutch ocean liner that was built in 1927 by the Nederlandsche Scheepsbouw Maatschappij for the Stoomvaart Maatschappij Nederland (SMN). She was employed on the Amsterdam – Batavia route until the outbreak of the Second World War. Requisitioned as a troopship, she was employed in the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean. Surviving the end of the war in Europe, she struck a mine in the Scheldt on 26 August 1945 and was beached. She broke in two on 5 September and was declared a total loss.