After loading, I flew via Vancouver to the unloading port in Italy. I also had a house in Breda, my European home base. So I was on the road a lot. Eventually, I started working from Vancouver for Dockwise Yacht Transport in Fort Lauderdale. Although that was a lot quieter, yacht transport was an adventurous time.”

Deputy harbour master Some ten years after Egge married his girlfriend, he began to find the frequent travelling increasingly demanding. By chance, his wife spotted a vacancy: a position as deputy harbour master at Vancouver port authority. He applied and was hired. A very nice job, he says. “Vancouver is the largest port in Canada and the fourth largest in North America. We have cruise ships, oil tankers, container ships and lots of bulk cargo, such as grain. Canada produces a lot of grain, which goes mainly to Asia. I make sure the ships sail in and out safely.”

Fantastic work Egge's work is a combination of policy, commerce and implementation. The policy part is about the rules Egge and his team draw up. Ships must abide by those rules. “At the bridge to the oil terminal, for example, there is a lot of current. Ships are allowed to pass under that bridge only in slack water, when there is no current. At the same time, there is a commercial side to every decision. The cost is huge if I have to make a ship wait a few hours before it can load at the terminal. Meanwhile, we are of course busy with the operation all day long, which is practical and quite technical. Are there any problems? Will it be windy? Should we use tugs? I have a lot of contact with pilots. We work all day long to ensure that the ships in Vancouver can enter and leave as efficiently as possible. It is fantastic work. It's a combination of everything I've done my whole life.”

Special Although Egge still enjoys his work, he is already cautiously thinking about his pension. He built up part of his pension with Bpf Koopvaardij when he sailed with Holland America Line. Another part of his pension is in Belgium from his years of service with Seatrade. He built up most of his pension in Canada. “Because my pension is spread out across different places, I started looking into it early on. It took me a while to get the right apps, like DigiD, to gain access.”

Own responsibility Dutch pension funds invest their members' pension money. That's what investment experts do. In Canada, it works very differently. "I have my own retirement account via my work. I can see via an app exactly what the value is, today, right now. I invest that money in equities. Investment gains are tax free. I can decide how much risk I invest with and what I invest in. The pension fund then implements my wishes. You can decide your own retirement date and how much money you take out of the fund each year. You then pay tax on that, so you can plan that well yourself. But if you invest poorly or spend everything on a holiday and then have no money left for your pension, you're out of luck. That is your own responsibility. That's how it goes in Canada. You are much more on your own than in the Netherlands.”

Circle For now, Egge continues to enjoy working at the port. His office is in the cruise terminal. “I now work where I started my career with the SS Rotterdam. Holland America Line ships dock here almost every day between April and September. So I still see them quite often, but as a harbour master. That is and remains special. It has come full circle.” ←