Master mariner Willem Frowein lives in Canada

‘A seaman can feel at home anywhere’

Willem Frowein (age 61) lives at a beautiful spot on the east coast of Canada. The master mariner, originally from The Hague, has also acquired Canadian nationality. Even so, he is considering a return to his homeland, to be closer to the Dutch shipping companies he would like to sail for.

“Canada may have the longest coastline in the world, but it's not as big a seafaring nation as the Netherlands", Willem explains when we interview him via Skype. "Dutch shipping is even a global market leader in certain respects. There is also a great deal of innovation. Dutch shipping companies have modern seagoing vessels and the crews are skilled. In the past, I have enjoyed working for the salvage company Smit and for shipowners Spliethoff and Wagenborg.”

From deckhand to master mariner Willem's career started from the bottom up: “In 1977, I went to sea for the first time. As a deckhand. After a while, I got the helmsman's diplomas for seagoing vessels and seagoing tugs." Later, Willem was promoted to the highest rank in civil shipping, that of master mariner, both in the Netherlands and in Canada. It allows him to be in command of any type of ship of any size. Willem: "I've sailed on tankers, bulk carriers and coasters. But also on dredgers, offshore vessels, seagoing tugs and salvage vessels. Over the past few years, I've worked for a Canadian shipping company on an ice-breaking supply ship in the Arctic.”