Sean De Cort is the fifth member of his family to work for Brabo. His grandfather, father and two uncles have all preceded him.
What does the work of a boatman consist of?
Sean De Cort: “Essentially, it’s about mooring and unmooring ships before and after the lock, which entails a different way of working. On the river Scheldt, a tidal river, we work with winch trucks, light-duty trucks equipped with a single winch.
It’s an exciting and very interesting job. It always looks the same, but that is a misconception. Every ship has its own characteristics. For large ships we use mooring boats to heave the steel cables.”
How are you trained for your job?
“After the written entrance exam (and additional physical tests) you receive in-house and external training. The full training programme takes five years to complete. Afterwards you sit an exam and you can work as a licensed boatman. When I started working at Brabo, I immediately received on-the-job training (company policy, dock numbers, what’s allowed and what’s not) and then I was deployed at every location in the port for one month at a time. This helps you to get to know each sector with its own people, peculiarities and methods.”
How important is the cooperation between boatman and pilot?
“Very important! All of our pilots were once boatmen. You wouldn’t get very far without a friendly, respectful cooperation that goes both ways. We need to do all we can to help the pilots do their work in optimal conditions.”
