Interview: container transporter Douwe Visser of Visser Shipping

Douwe Visser, a Frisian in his sixties, has been sailing all his life. There was an initial ten-year spell in inland navigation with his wife after he got his maritime licence, then from 1995 onwards in maritime shipping. At first, it was small-scale goods to Denmark, and later on containers. Why? Because his children were going to school by then… and because he had another, less usual, reason for wanting to stay in the area.

Nowadays, Visser Shipping has five vessels providing maritime container transport. Was that a big change?

“Switching from inland navigation to the Denmark route, which was our patch at the time, wasn’t actually such a big step. And growing to the five container ships we have now was very organic too. You’ve got a helmsman on board who enjoys the work, is a good sailor and gets his skipper’s papers… and then you see that the financial situation is favourable enough to add another ship. That happened three or four times. People who develop to suit the right jobs, with us being confident that it would work.”

Was this a way for you to manage the risks?

“Our thinking has always been to earn the money first and only then buy the new ships. The two go together. A new crew ready and another ship. On top of that, we always try to have two lads on board as trainees. From there, they can move up to being the third engineer, second helmsman, whatever. We think it’s important that there are Dutch crew on board, so that knowledge and skills are retained in this country. There was an article in Schuttevaer just recently saying that there aren’t enough Dutch skippers. We want to help improve that.”

Compared to Germany, there isn’t much container shipping in the Netherlands. Why is that?

“The big players who’ve been in the Netherlands for a long time are all dry cargo freighters. They’re not interested in having a container ship in their fleet because they can’t earn so much with it. The situation in Germany is precisely the other way around; there are lots more container brokers there. Other benefits were the really nice quays that Germany had in the past, that could be built up wider than sixteen metres, and the favourable KG system, the limited commercial partnership. Shipping companies didn’t have to put in much of their own money to get a ship and so they could grow quickly.”

So you’ve got a nice position in the market, as the exception that proves the rule?

“The market for containers in the Netherlands is small and we’re one of the few players here. The big advantage for us is that we can get warehousing exemptions more easily in ports like Rotterdam. Even so, Hamburg is still the place for container shipping. That’s where you’ve got to be.”

How is container shipping developing?

“We’ve had two really good years, which is just as well after ten crisis years. The market is calming down a bit at the moment. We’re trying to build up a base, which is a tough task given that the container market is all about supply and demand – very competitive. But we can handle ourselves well enough in it; we’re confident. Another aspect is that the ships themselves are getting bigger and more expensive, as well as becoming more sustainable. We’re responding to that and making our fleet greener. Our latest vessel complies with all the new regulations.”

How is NNPC helping Visser Shipping?

“We’ve been loyal NNPC members ever since we switched to maritime operations – so that’s since 1995. That says it all, I reckon. You build up a close bond over time. The lines are short and there’s a lot of knowledge. You’d like to have as little to do with each other as possible, of course, because that would mean there’s no damage and no problems. But NNPC will always help us when something does happen, even if it’s not completely as per the policy. That’s very much appreciated.”

You’re an active sports sailor – a skûtsjesiler. Can you explain to non-Frisians exactly what that is and how heavily you are involved in it?

“Skûtsjesilen is in our genes. We’re from Friesland’s inland navigation world, which used to be based on skûtsjes – wooden or steel sailing boats that carried cargo. Nowadays, they’re used for exciting sailing races. Our family have been doing that for generations. Skûtsjesilen goes on throughout the summer, but the key competitions are in the SKS championship, where we have eleven races on various lakes in Friesland, after which the champion is crowned. It’s the only thing that matters in Friesland then. It’s a great sport, with strict rules to make sure it stays authentic. We train all year round for it and, well… you have to put a lot of time into it, as you can imagine. Along with my children’s schooling, that was the reason why we moved into container shipping, with fixed timetables. That let me combine it with my love of sailing.”

[Editor’s note: since this interview was held, we have learned that Douwe Visser has become the SKS skûtsjesilen champion for 2024, the eighth time he has won it. Congratulations on the victory!]

So skûtsjesilen is embedded in Visser Shipping?

“Apart from the fact that I see both of them as a hobby – pretty much – I do see similarities: skûtsjesilen and my company are both team sports where everyone has to do their bit. You need good people for it who’ll be with you for a long time. You’ll never achieve what you want by yourself because you’ll have too much to handle. That applies to skûtsjesilen and to container shipping too.”