Transport Coordinator

Tom

You don’t learn this job at school.

Good organisation of transports is crucial to successfully complete projects. As a transport coordinator I keep an overview of the specific transports via water, ranging from shipments via inland waterways over the organisation of towage transports to the chartering of heavy lift vessels. Negotiating transport contracts is also part of my job.

Because we are working on so many projects, with often varying time schedules and deadlines, it is a constant challenge to come up with solutions that suit everyone. In consultation with both internal and external partners, we always look for the best solution. Some time ago, for example, our installation vessel Vole au Vent had to unload large structures and load several others at the same time, including the necessary (dis)assembly. Moreover, the structures came from different locations. An amazing feat as to organisation, which we were fortunately able to accomplish in time, because keeping our installation vessel waiting results in a loss of income.

Hence, it goes without saying that this function requires the necessary flexibility. And the pandemic puts us to the test even more: crew changes on the vessels were often delayed due to quarantines, which also delayed transports. Fortunately, this had no impact on the projects themselves. As a transport coordinator you also have to be creative. Jan De Nul often plays a pioneering role in setting up new projects. In order to successfully execute the corresponding transports, for which we also take care of the planning and organisation ourselves, we often have to think out-of-the-box. There is no manual available, nor is there any specific training: you just learn everything ‘on the job’. This makes the job truly unique and the satisfaction in case of a successful transport even greater.