Page 2 - Willem Barentsz

In November 1945, 8 fishing boats were purchased. They were designed as whalers but were rebuilt
and used by the British Navy during the war. Now they had to be rebuilt for their original purpose. Six
in Amsterdam and two in Montevideo. They were registered as AM-1 up to and including AM-8 in the
register of the Amsterdam fishing fleet, decorated on the back with the names of the Vinke family:
Gerrit W. Vinke, Albert W. Vinke, etc. 400-ton underpowered boats, but in those days, there were no
better ones. On 27 October, the expedition left Amsterdam for the first time under captain Klaas
Visser from the isle of Schiermonnikoog with 356 people on board.

The crew was a different story.

In the meantime, the "Pan Gothia" had undergone a very radical renovation and had been changed
into a modern factory ship with the name "Willem Barendsz". To create space for the large slaughter
deck, the bridge was built in front. The slaughter deck was interrupted halfway by the so-called "hell
gate". Under the slaughter deck was the factory space. Four funnels and in between the "slipway",
along which the whales could be pulled up. Despite strikes and difficulties with the material supplies,
the ship was still ready reasonably on time. A selection from the provision list: 60 tons of potatoes, 40
tons of meat, 4 tons of coffee. Enough for 356 people on board.

What did the Dutch know about whaling? Nothing! The last Dutch expedition to the north had been
in 1870. In Norway, it had been agreed that the crew would consist of 90 percent Norwegians on the
first voyage, but that party did not take place. The Norwegian government had enacted a law
prohibiting Norwegians from participating in new whaling expeditions. There was great indignation,
also among the Norwegian whalers, thousands of whom were unemployed. "Those stubborn
Dutchmen can get it done without us," they said. And indeed, that hurdle was also overcome. Instead
of 90 percent Norwegians, only 50 went along, including the catch leader. Furthermore, a few
Faroese islanders. Wild boys, I've heard. As a result, there were quite a few difficulties.

On December 17, 1946, only a few catchers reached the fishing grounds. The fleet was not completed
until 11 January. Despite major problems, including with the Norwegian catch leader, the expedition
came home with 12,000 tons of whale oil and 100 tons of by-products. The proceeds amounted to 12
million guilders, enough for a modest dividend.

Radio room Willem Barendsz/PIPZ 1946. Left an RCA 4U installation and in the background a
Westinghouse TDE transmitter, a BC348 receiver. Right an RCA ET8012 telephony transmitter and a
Marconi Lodestone DF

It soon became clear that the fishing capacity was lagging the processing capacity, and two converted
British corvettes were added to the catcher fleet, the AM-9 and the AM-10. These had a power of