“I AM VERY PROUD OF WHAT WE HAVE ACHIEVED TOGETHER! “

Miranda Stoppelenburg is responsible for overseeing the  loading / unloading of the barges , correspondence, chartering and RoRo transport. In addition to the usual barging issues, she sometimes talks with the captain’s wife about life on board  in combination with family and school-age children compared to ‘’normal life”.  Miranda is happy with her job  and  this results in always checking the river to see if there is a barge with a Nautica Flag.

After a year and a half  working in international  forwarding, Miranda started at Nedlloyd Rijn- en Binnenvaart BV in 1986. At that time, René Nouwen was her mentor.

Miranda: “It was the time before  the internet/ computers etc  were commonplace. We had only one word processor, used by four employees and yet the Royal Nedlloyd Group was ahead of time in air – road-, and shipping transport “.

I remember the winter of 1990. Suddenly it was ‘all hands on deck’  when there was this movement of a complete battalion of  US Army vehicles, all to support the military operation Desert Shield to Iraq! There was a lot of stress in chartering . Every suitable barge was involved.  For the 24 hour communication,  we used  those big ‘suitcase like’’ cell phones. There was a lot of stress everywhere,  but it was also very special and educational!

When the Management Buy Out in 1998 occurred,  she stepped confidently  on board  of Nautica Binnenscheepvaart BV

Three years after this takeover there was again a big movement of Army Vehicles that ruled the river  Rhine in 2002/2003.

This time  the operation was being  called “Iraqi Freedom”.

“But  at that time,  there was  experience!”. The whiteboard planning  in 1990 was  completely replaced by  spreadsheet – planning   in 2002.

Has Nautica been doing well,  right from the start?

“There are always ups and downs, in real life but also business wise.

I remember,  that René  suddenly  nearly fainted during a phone call.

In the aftermath of the big  firework incident in Enschede, the Cereol soybean factory in Utrecht was forced to shut down by the authorities.

Our pusher and four push barges that were contracted for their soybean supply,  were suddenly out of work. ”

For the pusher and her crew,  we had to find another job.

Can you say that Nautica is  in your DNA?

“After 30 years working in the  dry cargo barge chartering , I can hardly deny it.

It has proved to be a point of stability in my life. Customers who demand smart logistics and a competitive price in addition to calculating barge operators always remain fascinating. I am proud of what we have achieved together. ”