When Holland America Line’s Nieuw Statendam sets sail in December 2018, the ship’s senior staff officers will bring a combined 80 years of company loyalty and experience.
The cruise line announced that Captain Sybe de Boer, Staff Captain Kevin Beirnaert, Hotel Director Don Habets, Chief Engineer Eric van Loenen, andEnvironmental Officer Dolf Kramer will lead Nieuw Statendam’s shipboard teams.
The 99,500-ton ship currently is under construction at Fincantieri’s shipyard at Marghera, Italy. During its inaugural year, Nieuw Statendam will explore the Caribbean in winter and then move to northern Europe, Iceland and the Mediterranean in summer.
“A company like Holland America Line, with 145 years of history, has a tremendous breadth of experienced officers and staff to ensure a successful launch of a newbuild, and we’re thrilled to have Captain de Boer, Don, Eric, Kevin and Dolf leading Nieuw Statendam’s shipboard teams,” said Orlando Ashford, Holland America Line’s president. “Not only have these skilled leaders been dedicated Holland America Line team members for decades, they have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to our guests, and I’m confident they will set the standards on Nieuw Statendam to deliver the service and quality we are renowned for.”
Meet Captain Sybe de Boer
Captain Sybe de Boer will be in command when Holland America Line’s Nieuw Statendam sets sail in December 2018. Having been with the company since 1994 when he joined the former Nieuw Amsterdam, de Boer rose through the ranks from second officer to captain. He has been master of Statendam, Zaandam,Rotterdam, Amsterdam and Eurodam, and served on Maasdam, Ryndam, Noordam, Nieuw Amsterdam and Koningsdam.
For the past three years he represented Holland America Line as a Fleet Captain at Maritime Quality Assurance, Carnival Corporation Plc. In this role he advanced the Bridge Resource Management policies and procedures across the Carnival Corporation brands.
Hailing from the Netherlands Captain de Boer resides in The Hague. He enjoys going to concerts, visiting museums, flying light aircraft (he holds a commercial pilot’s license), sailing, photography and bicycling. He graduated from the Maritime Institute Willem Barentsz in Terschelling, the Netherlands, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Navigation.
Meet Hotel Director Don Habets
Since joining Holland America Line in 2002, Hotel Director Don Habets has sailed on all of the company’s ships, including the former Ryndam and Statendam, His first ship was Maasdam, and most recently he served on board Koningsdam. Habets began as an assistant maître d’ and worked his way up to hotel director through various hotel department positions.
A native of the Netherlands, Habets graduated from the Hoge Hotel School in Maastricht, the Netherlands, with a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management. He enjoys life and everything it brings, as well as making Holland America Line guests and crew happy.
Meet Staff Captain Kevin Beirnaert
Nieuw Statendam’s Staff Captain Kevin Beirnaert joined Holland America Line in 2006 and worked on Rotterdam, Eurodam, Nieuw Amsterdam and Koningsdam. He was also a member of the senior team to introduce Koningsdam.
Hailing from Gent, Belgium, Beirnaert studied at the Hogere Zeevaart school in Antwerp, Belgium, and worked for freight company Ecuadorian Line and on dredging ships in Dubai, U.A.E., on the Palm Jumeirah Project before joining Holland America Line. He resides in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Meet Chief Engineer Eric van Loenen
Chief Engineer Eric van Loenen joined Holland America Line in 2002 as a second engineer after working on container ships, cargo ships and chemical parcel tankers.He began his career with Holland America Line on Amsterdam and has served on several ships, including Maasdam, Ryndam, Volendam, Zaandam, Oosterdam,Zaandam and Zuiderdam.
Prior to being named to the Nieuw Statendam team he was chief engineer on Koningsdam.
Van Loenen graduated from the Maritime Institute Willem Barentsz in Terschelling. He and his wife live in Makkum, Friesland, in the Netherlands with their three children.
Meet Environmental Officer Dolf Kramer
Dutch native Dolf Kramer went to Nautical College in Den Helder, the Netherlands, and studied to be a shipboard engineer. Prior to joining Holland America Line in 2004 he worked on cargo ships and in a steel factory.
Kramer came to work for Holland America Line as an environmental officer, and he has worked on all classes of ships except Pinnacle Class. He has served onStatendam, Ryndam, Maasdam, Rotterdam, Volendam, Zaandam, Amsterdam, Prinsendam, Zuiderdam, Oosterdam, Westerdam, Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam. Launching Nieuw Statendam — the second Pinnacle Class ship — will round out his class experience.
When he’s not on board, Kramer lives in Aruba with his wife where he spends time riding his Harley Davidson and working to restore his classic 1957 Chevrolet.
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