Annual Report 2006

‘I’ve always felt drawn
to the towing business’
My brother-in-law has been with Wijsmuller for
43 years. So I knew that it was a good employer.
As a child, I sometimes joined him while he was
working on his tugboat. I really liked the work.
I first studied at the Maritime College. After graduation,
I applied for a job at Wijsmuller, but there
were no vacancies at the time. I then found work
in the fishing industry and later in the barging
sector. But I always wanted to go to sea. My
brother-in-law told me that the company were
going to buy another tugboat to cope with the
expanding business in the port. In addition,
some workers were taking early retirement.
I therefore approached them for work again and
was hired. As a deckhand, I do the deck work.
I do the maintenance work on the tug and attach
the tow cable to the ship we are going to tow.
I do very much like the variation in my work.
I even like the fact that I work irregular hours,
which allows me to do things with my family that
people with a nine-to-five job can’t do. It’s also
more pleasant to work in a port. Out on the sea,
things can get pretty rough, and you can get
tossed about.
René de krijger
Was hired as deckhand by the Svitzer Wijsmuller,
which is a towing and salvage company
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