René de Vries has been appointed (State) Harbour Master of Rotterdam, taking office on 1 March 2010. That is the date on which the current Harbour Master Jaap Lems retires. The port of Rotterdam is not unknown territory for De Vries. He began his career with the Port Authority in 1982, as crew member on one of the patrol vessels. Through the years, he has progressed to his present position, as manager of the Traffic Planning & Operations department, which has 220 staff. The (State) Harbour Master is responsible for the fast, safe and clean handling of shipping traffic in the port of Rotterdam.