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It’s not just the employees on board that matter, if you want to sail the right course as a maritime company.

SeaTalk had an interview with Rudi Vander Eyken, Head of IT and Innovation at tanker shipping company Euronav, a company that he describes as “young, dynamic and fast-growing”.

Vincent and Pierre Durot are two brothers at the helm of Antwerp-based shipping company Boeckmans. They are the fourth generation in this family business that was founded in 1935, and has grown into one of the largest independent shipping agencies in the Benelux, with offices in Antwerp and Rotterdam. While this is still the core business of the company, its activities have expanded over the years: they have purchased their own ships and now offer an A to Z service. SeaTalk met with Pierre (40), the youngest of the two managers. He talks about his passion for the maritime business and the challenges he faces as an entrepreneur.

Helga Van Noten used to stay regularly with her grandparents, in a flat on the Scheldt quays. The ships stirred the little girl’s curiosity. What is their destination, who are the people on board…? No one in her family was active in the maritime sector, so she lacked a stepping stone to enter this world.