M.s. Avanium – Wuustwezel

“Allez  vooruit” ‘, is a beautiful Flemish translation of the name that Steven and Tamara Peleman Poppe painted on the bow of their pride and joy of 1341 tons.

They are a young happy couple, these 2  barge owners . They always  manage to have  their two young  daughters  on board at the weekend.  This means  Tamara  is driving a lot of  kilometres.

Steven has courage and shows initiative. He has a certain drive and is also a man with a strong opinion.

He reacts immediately and calmly when noticing injustice and rings the bell before it is too late.

He recharges himself in southern France while fishing , catching catfish!  The biggest one he caught this year was two hundred and eighteen centimetres long!

Holiday to him means along with Luc, his father in law, walking through nature, fishing and afterwards returning to the campsite with stories about the “”catch of the day”’’

Tamara likes to spend her holiday with their children on the campsite and doesn’t miss the wheelhouse at all.

‘With our previous barge, we were on a container service between Dunkirk-Rijsel-Antwerp.

Due to the crisis, this went wrong. It was necessary to change course  and certainly to get hatches on our ship. Germany was a completely unknown area for us. A colleague told us: you should call Nautica! Meanwhile we have had two years of spot chartering. Currently the barge is rented out for the second year in a row and all is going well!’

‘We have this feeling that we are not just a number. Nautica thinks in a cooperative way, both in Zwijndrecht and Mainz.  Should we have some difficulties with a certain destination, another possibility is nearly always offered.’

We notice that some Nautica charterers have sailed themselves. And sure, we would like to invite the others to join us for a few days. Practical experience always makes a difference!’

The freight payment is always correct and on time.  Valuation generates mutual appreciation. Samen zoeken naar de overeenkomst genereert….??? TO DISCUSS WITH MIKE. We understand that chartering is not easy. Giving and taking is the bond between things, we are well aware of that.

Do you agree with this Tamara?

When I was a young child I used to say:  “I will marry a barge captain”!

I certainly liked to sail even at a young age.

I can use up all my energy on board along with Steven, our children,  the  dog and parakeet .

Half of our friends sail for Nautica. Among them are many Belgians. Meeting – on the go- often happens, for a nice drink and some relax time.

A few years ago, I was the Belgian representative for the Vibia organisation and was busy with the household waste file. It was a nice interesting period. This also included a trip on a seagoing vessel from Antwerp to Vlissingen. An experience that fine-tunes your view on shipping in the Westerschelde region.

Suggestions?

We already get a Christmas present that we welcome very much, but organizing a New Year’s Reception would be fun. Nautica does her best to occasionally come on board when we are nearby. Nevertheless, being face to face with colleagues from the office and barges does not only seem fun to us, but also helps to strengthen solidarity.

How do you look to the future?

Following new developments is also indispensable for inland navigation, but we hope to be able to continue working and living from our hearts, which means that computers and app’s should not become the decisive factors.

When we disembark,  560 tons of fertilizer have been transhipped to a coaster during this interview. Tamara manoeuvres the Avanium backwards against the quay.

Steven (while  laying a rope on the bolder) : excuse me ,  but I need to clean the holds of the barge,  dry the floor and tonight I have to load soy beans in the Europoort for Mainz “! Bye for now!