After a downturn, electrical drive specialist Bakker Sliedrecht sees business from the fishing industry increase again. After completing upgrades of fishing winch installations for four fishing vessels, more work may follow when the pulse fishing ban comes into effect.
In its heyday, Bakker Sliedrecht equipped around ten to twenty ships a year with a fishing winch system. Since the beginning of this century, there has been less activity in the sector and few new ships have been built. The fishing fleet was reduced and maintenance and replacement were often postponed. This trend seems to have come to an end, reports the company.
Fishing Winch and Bow Thruster Drives
Fishing winch and bow thruster drives installations consist of an engine for the fishing winch, an engine for the bow thruster and two generators that generate the necessary power. The engines and generators can be maintained with service and repair, but the switch boxes in which the controls are located, are often in need of replacement. Bakker Sliedrecht can replace the entire control system with a new one within two weeks.
Obsolete fishing winch and bow thruster drive (all pictures by Bakker Sliedrecht).
Upgrades Save Costs
Although it is possible to replace the entire winch installation, the company can also perform an upgrade of the fishing winch installation.' This keeps costs for the fishermen manageable and allows the ships to sail on for years to come,' explained technical commercial advisor Herman Rosenbrand of Bakker Sliedrecht. The company has performed such an upgrade for the KW 45, the UK 246 and the DS 8. This month, the Z 67 is planned.
Renewed fish winch and bow thruster drive.
More Work May Follow from Pulse Fishing Ban
The announced ban on environmentally friendly pulse fishing may prove disastrous for Dutch fishermen as it will increase costs significantly in terms of fuel consumption. However, the capacity of the fishing winch installation has been left intact on most ships, according to Rosenbrand, making it possible (technologically) to switch to the old method of beam trawling. This may mean more fishing companies will find their way to Bakker Sliedrecht for the necessary adjustments.
