“Welcome to a Dying Industry”: Inside Rik van Hemmen’s Maritime Journey
From a Dutch maritime family to America's Cup yacht design and the president of Martin & Ottaway, a 150-year-old engineering firm, Rik van Hemmen has walked a unique path through the maritime industry. van…
Gregory R. Trauthwein has covered the global maritime market for more than 25...
From a Dutch maritime family to America's Cup yacht design and the president of Martin & Ottaway, a 150-year-old engineering firm, Rik van Hemmen has walked a unique path through the maritime industry. van Hemmen recently visited with Maritime Matters: The MarineLink Podcast, to share his views on everything from maritime engineering, technology, fuel, education and the future of shipping. In 1988, a 28-year-old Rik van Hemmen attended a cocktail party at the Four Seasons in New York City, surrounded by senior shipping executives and shipowners. He had recently joined Martin & Ottaway, the maritime engineering and consulting company where his father, Hank van Hemmen, was a partner.
One of the industry veterans offered the young engineer a greeting he has never forgotten.
Van Hemmen, never particularly inclined to accept conventional wisdom, had an answer.
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