Between 1892 and 1893, French inventor Ernest Bazin filed patent for an unusual ship design. Instead of gliding through water, which had hitherto been used, Bazin sought to minimize contact with water and thus overcome friction by proposing a design that incorporated rotating wheels. After long years of experimentation with a model roller ship in a scale of 1 :25, Bazin was ready to take his invention to the seas.
In December 1893, Bazin, in collaboration with his brother Marcel, established the Societe en Participation du Navire-Express-Rouleurs Bazin, a shareholding association dedicated to the development and financing of the roller ship. Two years later, the Societe d'Etudes et d'Exploitation des Navires Rouleurs Bazin Societe Anonyme was officially incorporated in Paris to further advance Bazin's roller ship concept. Simultaneously, construction of the first roller ship commenced at the Cail shipyard in Saint-Denis.
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