With over 30 years in the industry combining time at sea and ashore working on and for both Merchant ships and large yachts, Hans adds a new dimension to the services offered by Sarnia Yachts through his position of Head of Yacht Management which he took up in September 2020.
Hans holds dual qualifications in Navigation and Engineering and has a wealth of experience in Marine, Technical and Compliance Management. Other specific areas of expertise include Risk Management & Accident Investigation, Crisis Response and Reputational Management.
In 2001, after a varied seagoing career culminating in the rank of Staff Captain (Chief Officer) on the cruise ships of Holland America Lines, Hans began the development of a Safety Management System under the then still very new ISM Code for a shipping company owning and operating a fleet of short sea multi-purpose cargo vessels. Moving from cargo ships to superyachts in 2007 when he joined a leading yacht management company, Hans has been involved with the management of large yachts ever since. Hans successfully attained accreditation for Passenger Yacht Operation for one of the first superyachts to ever apply for this status, when the original Passenger Yacht code was introduced.
Having worked with a variety of Flag Administrations, Classification Societies, marine insurance firms, yacht repair and construction yards, naval architects, recruitment agencies, legal firms and all manner of service suppliers, Hans is well placed to assist owners, captains and crew with all manner of technical and compliance matters arising as part of the day to day running of their yachts.
A number of hobbies occupy Hans’ time when not looking after the yachts: As a “lefty” bedroom guitarist, he collects (and plays) nice left-handed acoustic guitars, plays some tennis occasionally, reads a book from time to time, and whenever there is an opportunity (not all that often these days) , he likes to go out on the water for some small boat sailing on the Solent which is right on the doorstep of his home on the Isle of Wight.