The 'SS Van Riebeeck' was a ship in the service of the Royal Packet Navigation Company (KPM). This company focused primarily on passenger and cargo shipping connections between the islands of the Dutch East Indies, the so-called 'inter-island shipping'. The KPM emerged from the war heavily battered. It lost 96 ships, resulting in the deaths of approximately 1,000 people.

Stadsarchief Amsterdam/Oosterhuis, Gustaaf (1858-1938)

The Van Riebeeck had departed from Pasoeroean (east Java, south of Surabaya) on January 2, 1942. On January 8, southeast of Java, it was attacked by the Japanese submarine I-56. The submarine fired two torpedoes, both of which missed their target. Subsequently, the Japanese submarine surfaced and fired at the Van Riebeeck with its onboard gun. The ship caught fire, and the crew abandoned the vessel. Four severely mutilated bodies were floating in the sea at the time. The lifeboat was also fired upon before the enemy departed. On January 11, the lifeboat reached the south coast of Java. 13 crew members had died.

The victims can be found on the website of the War Graves Foundation.

• Wikiwand.
  Lijst van rampen buiten Nederland met Nederlandse dodelijke slachtoffers.
• VAN RIEBEECK - ID 6906.
• Archief Amsterdam.
  Archief Nederlandse Dok- en Scheepsbouw.