Holland America Line has named Captain Emiel de Vries master of its new ship, the Koningsdam. Having been with the company since 1997, de Vries rose through the ranks from fourth officer to captain and has been master of the Amsterdam, Eurodam, Nieuw Amsterdam, ms Rotterdam and Zuiderdam.
De Vries currently lives near Venice, Italy, to be close to Fincantieri where the Koningsdam is being built. He has been involved with the newbuild project since 2014 and participated in the functional design of the navigation bridge.
Hailing from the Netherlands, de Vries grew up just east of Amsterdam. He graduated from the Hogere Zeevaart School in Amsterdam, one of the oldest nautical schools in the world, with degrees in navigation and engineering. He was introduced to Holland America in 1995 when he interned as a cadet on the former Noordam, and since joining the company, he has sailed on every class of Holland America Line’s ships.
When not in Italy at the shipyard, de Vries lives in Barrie, Ontario, Canada, with his wife, Susan, and their daughter.
