Meet Gosse, Port and Marina Engineer

How it started

About eight years ago, Gosse started his graduation internship at our organisation and smoothly transitioned into our maritime department as a port and marina engineer. "During my Civil Engineering studies, I did my graduation internship at Royal HaskoningDHV, and during this assignment, I found that there’s much to gain for the sector regarding matching the marina plan with surrounding nature. I developed a tool to put the philosophy into practice and apply it ever since. Specifically, the thesis looked into a marina for Mauritius, a place where natural beauty and a marina could really benefit one another.”

What makes marinas interesting?

It wasn't just his graduation project that created a bond with marinas, but also his sport since Gosse is an avid competitive sailor. So, for him, marinas are the perfect intersection between his Civil Engineering studies, port planning, and the sailing he has been doing all his life. "Marinas are a niche within the sector but a growing business globally. Compared to the maritime department’s commercial port projects, marinas are an exciting type of port to work on. Where large seaports are designed to operate as functionally and economically efficiently as possible, modern marinas are only sustainable if they are connected to their surroundings and, in general, offer a nice place to be for boaters and visitors alike. The subtlety required, and intricacies involved make marinas amazing facilities to work on."

All elements, but on a smaller scale

"Although a marina is a different type of port than a large seaport, many port infrastructure elements are present in marinas too, such as breakwaters, quays, and navigation channels, albeit on a slightly smaller scale. Although smaller, it is all there and has to come together well. With marina projects being smaller and very multidisciplinary, projects happen quickly, and the work has great variety. Only last year, I worked on huge superyacht marinas in the Middle East as well as a tiny sloop facility in the Netherlands."

More than just projects

It's not just the projects that Gosse works on that excite him but also the opportunities that Royal HaskoningDHV offers Gosse outside of his projects. "Besides my project work within the maritime team, I like to take on things outside my team and make connections with the rest of the company. For example, I've been on the worker’s council, dealing with major organisational decisions during COVID times. But I've also done the Future Leaders Journey and am now on the shadow management team for our business line. I like being involved across teams and always get the space for it."

Besides doing extra things for our organisation, Gosse also does this for the sector. "PIANC is an organisation of various companies and institutions worldwide that collaborate on, for example, certain guidelines. It also has a recreational boating branch called RecCom. Since my first year, I took seat in the commission board as a Young Professional, and I am currently involved in developing improved guidelines for marina design that are to be used globally. It's really a very cool task."