Jaap Van De Guchte Jr News

Feature: MTS Rosette: State of the Art Inland Tank Ship

Jaap van de Guchte Senior stands on the port side half way up the ship's 110-m length. With hand signals, two fingers pointing aft, he directs the helmsman to move the precise two meters for alignment of the tanker's cargo manifolds and those on the BP refinery dock. This will be the first cargo for the new motor tank ship Rosette. It is owned by Jaap Sr. and his two sons. In the elevated wheel house aft one of those sons and the captain for this trip, Jaap Jr., watches as one of his crew stands at the futuristically styled control console, working the jog stick controls of the powerful diesel electric bow thruster he moves the ship aft until Jaap Sr's crossed arms signals, "All stop". The boat's 2,000 hp Cummins QSK60 main engine has been showing 650 rpm idle on the digital read out.