He has no regrets. In 1993, after having worked for years with companies such as Nedlloyd and Smit, John Venis walked into the office of the young company of Kees Wagenaar and Joop Keesmaat (business partner at the time). And he never left. What has he done over the years? And how has he managed to ‘hang in there’ at TOS for 25 years? Well, it certainly doesn’t feel like hanging in there’, John exclaims, laughing. ‘I just never had the urge to look elsewhere. At TOS, everything was and is always well organised. I enjoy the contact with the team in the office. People actually listen to what you have to say here, and the work is challenging. What more could you ask for?’
Teamwork
John is a man who never gets a bad review for his work. He’s just not built that way. ‘Certainly, crewing agencies earlier on didn’t have a very good reputation. We had to prove the opposite. That is why I made absolutely sure that clients wouldn’t have a negative word to say about my work. I always went the extra mile. And I still do that today.’ The state of the shiny tug, FAIRPLAY XI underlines this drive. Everything looks great, in the FAIRPLAY TOWAGE club colours, tidy, clean and perfectly maintained. ‘It’s your home, so you simply make sure to take good care of it. And you don’t do it alone, of course. The other TOS boys here on board have the same mentality. We are a real team with everyone in charge of certain tasks. The housekeeping is part of the chores to be done.’
Two decades
As captain, John works two weeks on and two weeks off on ‘his’ tugboat in the Port of Rotterdam. ‘I’m telling you, this one is in a league of its own!’, he says with a big smile. ‘8000 hp. And you need that power, too, to guide those great big sea vessels from the mouth of the port to their berth.’ John has been working for FAIRPLAY TOWAGE for 20 years already and has stood at the helm of many vessels. A lot has changed in the past two decades. ‘We now also do offshore work and sail much more often.’
‘Just Call!’
When he thinks back to the past, he gets a twinkle in his eyes. ‘I’m 62 by now and very satisfied with the work that I’m doing. But sometimes you drift off, daydreaming. Especially about Gabon, where I went twice for a couple of months for TOS. That was really something. Elephants on the beach, monkeys on board, a crocodile on the ramp… And then it was also a wonderful, challenging project… If TOS ever has another job like that one, they can just give me a call!’