Page 9: of Marine News Magazine (November 2026)

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Insights

Rik van Hemmen “I’m a son of a son of a sailor”

Van Hemmen was born in the

Netherlands in 1960, into a family in which maritime engineering was an established profession. His father and grandfather were ship engineers, although neither began his career as a business owner. Maritime was part of everyday life. As a schoolboy, he brought photos of enormous Dutch tugboats to show and tell. His father’s work provided opportunities to visit ships and waterfront facilities. But on particularly acute memory has little to do with ships themselves. As a six- year-old, van Hemmen sat in the Lo- tus Formula One car driven by Jim Clark, which was being van Hemmen was 16. Approaching high school gradua- transported by the shipping company employing his father. tion, he had made little effort to investigate college until a

The experience left a lasting impression, but it did not guidance counselor intervened.

Maritime academies were suggested, but van Hemmen settle his career ambitions.

Born at the beginning of the space age, van Hemmen was not yet an American citizen and could not attend un- der the admission rules then in place.

was fascinated by aerospace engineering. He could read-

He began examining engineering programs and discovered ily imagine pursuing something other than maritime. His family’s connection to the industry, however, extended Virginia Tech’s aerospace and ocean engineering program.

Stevens Institute of Technology was another possibility, par- back another generation, and the story of how his grandfa- ticularly because of its involvement in America’s Cup research.

ther entered shipping is revealing.

Virginia Tech ultimately won out.

His grandfather, Hendrik Fokko, was the eldest of 12 chil-

Van Hemmen studied aerospace and ocean engineering, dren. His father was a cigar maker, and the younger Hendrik a combination re? ecting the shifting engineering priorities initially trained as a blacksmith. Seeking better opportuni- of the 1970s. With the space program and defense aero- ties, he decided to apply to a school for railway engineers.

On the tram to the school, an older passenger asked space markets contracting, ocean engineering was being where he was going. When Hendrik explained his plans, promoted as a new frontier. Deep sea mining, an industry the stranger suggested he stay aboard for one more stop still attempting to establish itself commercially today, was and apply to the marine engineering school instead. The among the emerging opportunities. Financial necessity led van Hemmen into cooperative education, including work money, the stranger explained, was better at sea.

for a defense contractor on submarine warfare projects. He

He followed the advice and became a ship engineer.

also spent time with the American Bureau of Shipping, a

For van Hemmen, the story illustrates something im- portant: even in a country with the maritime heritage of well-paying surveyor position in New York.

He took the job and bought a sailboat, but the of? ce the Netherlands, the connection between a young person routine did not suit him. “I just did not like the job. It re- and a maritime career can be remarkably tenuous, a re- sounding message today as the industry collectively seeks ally made me miserable,” he recalled.

On a whim, he applied to work in America’s Cup yacht to attract and retain the next generation.

And in fact, van Hemmen’s own route was hardly more design. He got the job, accepted a substantial pay cut, sailed his boat to Newport and spent four years designing yachts.

direct.

By 1988, with a wife, child and mortgage, the econom-

The family moved to the United States in 1976 when www.marinelink.com MN 9|