To use the long name, ‘Sleepdienst Broedertrouw B.V. v/h Firma C. den
Boer & Zonen’ at Zwijndrecht (Towage Service Broedertrouw Ltd formerly
Co. C. den Boer & Sons) is featured in “Duwvaart” by Jansen & Van
Heck on p. 24.
‘Broedertrouw’ was in fact the first vessel of about twenty, two of
which were eventually transformed into push and towboats which is why the
company is mentioned by these authors.
As mentioned in a recent post concerning Van
der Wees, this firm has a link
with Broedertrouw (not available in the English section). A few highlights
gleaned from this history page:
‘Broedertrouw’, a word expressing loyalty to kin and the name of the
first steam tug operated by Cornelis den Boer, expressed gratitude for
money loaned by family members. First active in towing away becalmed
sailing ships, Den Boer soon specialized in intense towing work for barge
operators, wharfs, scrapyards, shipping companies, etc.
Still a family business, the firm expanded after WWII, replacing steam
vessels by motorized ones. Reconstruction and the world-famous Delta
Works (basically, sheltering SW Netherlands from the sea thanks to extensive
construction) caused a growing demand for the services Broedertrouw could
offer. This included transport of heavy and voluminous goods, such
as bridge sections, on pontoons.
Reconversion after the conclusion of the Delta Works around 1985 led
to the introduction of push navigation. In 1992 Van der Wees at Dordrecht,
a company Broedertrouw had often cooperated with, took over the shares
and allowed a certain autonomy lasting to the end of 2002. In this
way almost a century of towage service came to an end.
A modest pennant shown in b/w and described by Jansen & Van Heck,
the houseflag was horizontally divided red above blue with a white initial
‘B’ (recalling both Den Boer and Broedertrouw) near the hoist. A simple
flag in the national colours.
See it on the historical – and clickable – b/w photos 3 and 6
on the aforementioned Van der Wees history page (at the end) and also,
for instance, on the second photo here.
Jan Mertens, 3 Mar 2006
Broedertrouw burgee
image by Jarig Bakker, 21 Mar 2006, after image on this
site.
![[Broedertrouw houseflag]](../images/n/nl~brtrf.gif)
image by Jarig Bakker, 21 Mar 2006, after image on this
site.
See also:
![[Broedertrouw burgee]](../images/n/nl~brtrb.gif)
image by Jarig Bakker, 21 Mar 2006, after image on this
site.
