Balder - VL.92

Call Sign: Papa-Foxtrot-9572 

The herring logger Balder was laid down on March 15 1912 at A. de Jong's shipyard in Vlaardingen, Netherlands, for the Mercurius Fisheries Society, and launched on May 15 of the same year. From 1912 thru 1921 Balder was one of hundreds of sailing herring loggers
She was decommissioned in 1922 due to the availablity of the more economical motor-loggers. In 1929 she was sold to the A. van der Zwam shipping company in Scheveningen, which also was the end of her sailing days. The new owner lengthened and motorized the ship  and rebaptized her as 'Oceaan 1'.

Until 1941 Balder actively participated in the herring fishery. Like many ships in those days Balder was confiscated by the German occupation forces, but luckily returned to the Netherlands in September 1945. Shortly thereafter she was out looking for herring again.

After this period Balder was sold to Sleephelling Maatschappij Scheveningen Ltd. and resold to the Vocational Education Association in The Hague. She ware rebaptized 'Zeearend' and adapted for education of trawling and drift-netting.

In 1976 the ship was sold to the Amsterdam Maritime Museum for ƒ1. After a major restoration during which the ship regained her original length and was brought back to her original condition as much as possible, she was permanently docked at the museum. In 2006 the Amsterdam Maritime Museum decided the ship no longer fitted their collection, and transferred it to the Vlaardingen fisheries museum, the city where the logger was built, and was her homeport during her early years.

In 2001 the Balder was subjected to an extensive technical inspection by The Netherlands Shipping Inspectorate. They had the ultimate view that a major repair at that time could save the ship from destruction. If this restoration is done with sustainable resources, this is a guarantee that the ship can be preserved for the future.

  

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