1976  – LINGESTROOM

The LINGESTROOM was the third ship that was added to the Van Wijngaarden Marine Services fleet. The ship’s name derived from the ‘Linge’; a 108 km long (semi-artificial) river that flows from Doornenburg to Gorinchem through the Betuwe and eventually merges in the large ‘Merwede’ river. ‘Linge’ means ‘the long water’ in Old Dutch linguistics. Large parts of the river are unnavigable for motorized ships. 

History
Due to the recovering market Wim van Wijngaarden decided to purchase a third tug. Instead of having it newly built, his eye got caught by a vessel ‘from trade’ with a rich history. The Lingestroom was originally built as a steamtug and named ‘Haarlemmermeer XI’ in 1914 at Shipyard C. van der Giessen in Krimpen aan den IJssel. Van Wijngaarden Marine Services purchased this ship – at present provisioned with a dieselmotor – as ‘Anna Maria’ from a previous owner originating from Papendrecht. For a while the Lingestroom was the strongest towingboat of the fleet in terms of engine power.