> MY HEADING

Matthijs van Steensel (43) is a first officer with Holland America Line. This summer, he’s moving to a new cruise ship to gain more and different experience. If it’s up to Matthijs, he’ll stay at sea until he retires. “I’ve been working for Holland America Line for 22 years now. It’s a fantastic job. On my most recent voyage, I sailed from San Diego to Australia and New Zealand via Hawaii. Brilliant!

I knew right from the age of six that I wanted to work on passenger ships. My dad was a shipbroker for container ships in Rotterdam and I was allowed to go on board sometimes. When I stayed with my grandparents in Katwijk, I used to watch the passing ships from the beach. I also read lots of books about ships and I watched The Love Boat on TV – so I could picture life aboard perfectly. In my third year of training, I was taken on by Holland America Line. I’m now a first officer, what we call a ‘staff captain’. My responsibilities include the nautical and medical services. I used to say that I went to sea because I hated paperwork. Well, that didn’t work out so well, because I need to do loads of paperwork. But that’s all part of the job, and it’s become just routine for me .

I want to keep challenging myself in my work. Up to now, I’ve always served on conventional cruise ships with two propellers. Our new vessels are propelled by Azipods. Starting this summer, I’ll be working on one of them, the Koningsdam. That means a completely different way of manoeuvring, which is why I’ve been training on the Holland America Line simulator. It’s great! I really enjoy my work.

I see myself staying at sea until I retire. ←