Ronny Detienne: “In 1970 I was in my last year at technical college. I sat my entrance exam with Brabo and was accepted. All I knew was that I would be mooring ships as a boatman. That would be my main duty for the next four years. A huge adventure for a 17-year-old boy. I felt like a fish in water.
Step by step I took on more duties, such as helmsman on board large ships. As a young man you could earn a bit of extra money that way. After a while I had the opportunity to start the training programme to become a pilot. Twelve years later I finished this training programme and in 1990 a new adventure began. I’m still convinced that harbour pilot is the best job in the world. Every assignment is different, there’s no such thing as routine.
While I was working as a pilot, I soon ended up on the Board of Directors. I quickly got up to speed with the ins and outs of the business and was able to contribute policy ideas. In the year 2000, there was an unexpected vacancy at management level. The chairman convinced me to take up the post of nautical director, which I did in 2001. At the same time, I was still carrying out over 100 piloting assignments a year.
In 2005 I became general manager, a job I’ve been passionate about until 1 January 2020.”
