POLESTAR - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Author
- Fellow of the Nautical Institute and Member of the International Federation
- the Author
The author, Captain Henk Hensen, has published several articles on tug boats.
Captain Henk Hensen is a Master Mariner and was a Port of Rotterdam pilot for 23 years. Before becoming a Rotterdam pilot, he sailed worldwide on various ship types, from bulk carrier to passenger ship. During his years as a pilot, he was stationed at the Pilot Office of the Rotterdam Port Authority for five years. During that time, he started the first simulator courses for harbour pilots and tug captains, and participated in many port studies, including simulator research.
Following his pilot career, he continued to work as marine consultant on the nautical aspects of port studies, harbour tug advice and simulator training. Projects have included port entrance and port development studies, including port studies on simulators, for the ports of Rotterdam, Amsterdam, as well as for several other ports in the world.
Furthermore, he has carried out and has been involved in various other nautical studies, such as nautical safety studies, tug performance studies for ship bridge simulators, studies for the development of LNG terminals, container terminals, mooring simulation studies, simulator studies for safe bridge passages and safe bridge design, studies on safe and efficient harbour tug use, etc. He has been involved in investigations and legal cases regarding tug accidents, either as project leader or as an expert witness.
As an author he published the monograph "Manoeuvring Single Screw Vessels fitted with a Controllable Pitch Propeller in Confined Waters" (1994); chapters of the books "The Nautical Institute on Pilotage and Ship Handling" (1990) and "The Work of the Harbourmaster" (1998), and numerous articles in nautical magazines. His latest work includes the monograph "Bow Tug Operations with Azimuth Stern Drive Tugs" (latest edition: 3 edition 2016), "Tug Stability" (2016) and "Tug Use in Port" (latest edition: 4th edition 2021).
Captain Hensen is a Fellow of The Nautical Institute and member of the International Federation of Shipmasters. He is Patron and Fellow of the ITA (International Tug masters Association).
He was elected as `Tug Personality of the Year 2010' by BTA (British Tug owners Association).
Job Titles:
- Retired Professor for Navigation at ISSUS
Dr. Bernhard Berking is a retired Professor for Navigation at ISSUS (University for Applied Sciences Hamburg). He lectured on training courses for ECDIS use for navigators, pilots and students.
Additionally, he held the position of Visiting Professor for Electronic Navigation Systems an the World Maritime University in Sweden. For a period of twenty years, he was Chairman of the Maritime Commission of the German Institute of Navigation (DGON).
Eelko started his career as mate and QHSE coordinator at various dredging companies, such as Baggerbedrijf De Boer and Van Oord. In this capacity he worked on prestigious projects such as the World Project in Dubai and the development of the Tweede Maasvlakte in Rotterdam.
He is currently working as team leader and teacher Maritime and Dredging at the STC Group. His classes include Dredging (TSHD, CSD, Fluid Mechanics, Safety, Dredgepumps and drives) Navigation, Math, Physics, Business knowledge, Survey, Meteorology and vessel manoeuvering.
For over thirty years Kees Benning has worked as a lecturer and manager at the Shipping and Transport College in Rotterdam. He has been teaching many students on port operations and logistics. His books include Containers op- en overslag, Breakbulk and Warehousing.
After finishing his Bachelor at the Flensburg University of Applied Sciences, Marcus Wöster gathered practical seagoing experience as navigational watchkeeping officer in the worldwide trade.
In 2014 he started his academic career as lecturer at the Flensburg University of Applied Sciences on Technical Navigation, Ship Stability, Cargo Handling, ISPS and Maritime Simulations. Currently he is head of the Sailing Division at the Christian-Albrechts-Universität Kiel.
He is a member of the Editorial Board of The Electronic Chart and is co-author of Radar Basics.
Mr. van der Laan graduated at Delft University of Technology as Naval Architect in 1991. In 1997 he finished a Ph.D. thesis on ‘Environmental Tanker Design' in cooperation with Shell.
Since 1997, he has been director of IMC, a consultancy firm active in the development and engineering of various ship designs and associated ship equipment. This includes 360 degree towing systems for tugs (the Carrousel with Multraship, the DOT system with Mampaey Offshore Industries), the SafeWinch with Kraaijeveld winches (received the IMO 2008 Seatrade Award), the V-POD electric propulsion with Verhaar Omega and recently the development of the All-Rounder tug in Malaysia.
In addition to various developments, he is also involved as a technical expert in the investigation of tug accidents and damage cases.
Job Titles:
- Secretary - General of the International Hydrographic Organization
Dr. Jonas is the Secretary-General of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) since 2017. Prior to this appointment he held the posts of Vice President of the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency and National Hydrographer of Germany with responsibility for sea survey and sea cartography.
Being a mariner, Dr Jonas has been is involved in integrated navigation matters since the beginning of the nineties. In addition he has completed the world's first technical certification of an Electronic Chart Display and Information System in1999 and has continuously contributed to IMO and IHO standardisation activities for navigation equipment, survey and cartography since. As one of the responsibilities of his current post he holds the Chair of the Hydrographic Commission on Antarctica.
Born in 1966 in Germany, Professor Captain Ralph Becker-Heins discovered his enthusiasm for the ‘salty element' during childhood. After completing grammar school, he enrolled in the German Navy (1986) as a mine clearance diver and subsequently officer on mine hunting vessels.
During this period, he successfully completed studies in Aerospace Engineering and, after completion of his service, another in Nautical Sciences. Changing to the Merchant Marine, he moved through the ranks and became Ship Master before returning to shore in 1996 as a Crew Manager in Limassol, Cyprus.
In late 1998, back in Germany, Ralph established his first company MSG MarineServe, a classroom training provider. Parallel to this, three years later in 2001, he was appointed as ordinary Professor at the University of Applied Sciences at Bremen, specialising in Ship Navigation, and Ralph was additionally appointed Honorary Professor at the Kherson State Maritime Academy (Ukraine) in 2009.
During the same year Ralph founded his second company - Safebridge, a corporation engaged in maritime digital human resource competence management, business fields of which encompassed online competence assessment, online training, and a platform for digital certificates. In Spring 2021 the Safebridge group of companies was sold, and Ralph released his position as CEO.
Mr. Wenzel learned shipping from the bottom up. He began his maritime career as an apprentice ship mechanic. After studying nautical science at the Flensburg University of Applied Science and obtaining his nautical and technical license, he sailed as a navigator on container ships and master of an expedition yacht.
As a lecturer and simulation instructor, he taught prospective navigators and engineers and refreshed the knowledge of experienced seafarers. His subjects included Technical Navigation, Ship's Safety, Dangerous Goods & Dangerous Substance. In his current job at Raytheon Anschütz, he is responsible for product positioning and marketing.