That section of town was not only located right on the river Rhine(there called "De Nieuwe Maas") but several shipping companies had their head quarters there: The Rotterdam Lloyd, van Nievelt Goudriaan, Smit Lloyd, Hudig and Veder, Van Uden, Oranje Lijn, Dammers and van der Heide and Phs.van Ommeren.
Across the river were the head quarters and port facilities of the Holland America Line.
As a young boy I loved to go to the river and watch the beautiful ships of the Holland America Line, such as the "Nieuw Amsterdam", "Noordam", "Rotterdam", etc swing around in the river and dock.
No wonder that I became a Naval Architect and had a 30-year career in the shipping industry with Phs van Ommeren which ran a fleet of bulkcarriers, tankers, coasters and inland barges. We also had an interest in the heavy lift companies Dock Express and ENShip.
Upon my retirement I settled in the USA and started collecting 1250-scale shipmodels.
I am now the proud owner of huge collection including the complete NOORDZEE series.
My big worry is however, what will happen to this collection when I hit the bucket?
70 YEARS IN AMERICA!
We arrived in Hoboken NJ on October 16, 1951, aboard the MS NOORDAM II. This is why one of my NOORDZEE miniature ship models means so much to me. https://goo.gl/photos/nRoo5GqxvPN7Qx4o8 http://ssmaritime.com/HAL-MS-Noordam2-Westerdam-1.htm
Complete sets of the 1:1250 scale “Noordzee Modellen” by Robert de Vlam are at the USMMA-American Merchant Marine Museum at Kings Point, NY and at the “Maritiem Museum” in Rotterdam, NL https://photos.app.goo.gl/JGBpQqkXbFKxqTBq1
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