Philippe Deckers, deputy general manager sales at Cosco Shipping Lines Belgium, says goodbye to the Antwerp maritime sector after 34 years and moves to Lima in Peru. He follows his wife, who has been assigned a four-year work assignment there.
Philippe Deckers will leave for Lima on 15 October 2024 for at least a four-year period. “It’s now or never,” he says. “I recently turned 60 years old and want to embark on a new adventure with my wife. I have already informed myself a bit about job opportunities, but I will mainly apply locally. From a distance, it is very difficult.”
Port of Chancay
Lima is Peru’s capital and largest city. The city is located on the west coast in the centre of the country. Callao province is an enclave within Lima province and includes Peru’s main port. “Cosco Shipping Ports is building a new port in Chancay, located some 65 km from Lima. Chancay is becoming increasingly important for South America’s Pacific coastline. In time, Chancay Port Terminal should become the regional hub and South American maritime hub to Asia and Oceania,” he said.
Cosco plans to open the new Chancay Port in November 2024 during the APEC summit in Lima. “It would be a great opportunity to work in Chancay, in a sales or operational role,” he says. “But, I don’t rule out changing tack and going for a job in a new sector. For example, I am thinking of assisting Belgian or international companies in Peru with their imports and exports. I know the transport world like the back of my hand. My knowledge of various languages, including Spanish, will certainly come in handy in this regard.”
Ceviche
His wish list includes visiting Machu Picchu and Peru’s Galapagos Islands. Fine dining out is also high on the agenda. “Peru is a culinary country. The World Travel Awards awarded Peru best culinary destination in the world several times. The basis of the dishes are Peruvian ingredients such as local fish, quinoa, aji and chillies, prepared with Japanese techniques,” he says. “The national dish is Ceviche. And, not insignificantly, they also serve the famous cocktail Pisco Sour there,” he laughs.
The glass room
Deckers worked in the maritime sector in Antwerp for no less than 34 years, 24 of which were spent working for China Shipping and Cosco, known today as ‘Cosco Shipping Lines’. After finishing his shipping studies at the Hoger Instituut Sint Lodewijk and studies in translation (licentiate French & Spanish), he started his career in 1990 at Van Ommeren Agencies in ‘het glazen kot’, on the corner of Sint-Paulusstraat and Lange Koepoortstraat. At the time, Van Ommeren was still a shipping agent for the Japanese shipping company NYK.
After gaining the necessary practical experience (ship manifest, bookings and inside sales), he went to work as outside sales at Muller Thomsen, Mitsui OSK Lines, PSAL (export USA) and RKE (inland shipping on the Rhine), respectively. He then joined China Shipping in 2000. That shipping company had started a year earlier with an office in Antwerp.
24 years at Cosco
As sales manager, Deckers helped drive China Shipping’s rapid rise. New container ships were deployed, including the ‘CSCL Europe’, the largest container ship (8,500 teu) that called at Antwerp in 2004. Ten years later, ship capacity had more than doubled, with vessels of 19,000 teu. “Thanks to a strong team and a customer-focused culture, China Shipping became a success,” he says. In 2016, China Shipping merged with Cosco resulting in Cosco Shipping Lines.
Casual atmosphere
Deckers will remain with Cosco Shipping Lines Belgium at the Kempisch Dok until mid-October 2024. He looks back fondly on all those years in shipping. “It is a fascinating world with interesting national and international contacts, including fascinating business trips to China, South-East Asia and South America,” he says. “I have always greatly appreciated the casual atmosphere in the ‘maritime’, with boat visits, events and discussions – which were also occasionally continued in an Antwerp café.”
“Although the IT scene now dominates container shipping, the personal contact between the various parties is still very important which makes it still attractive to work in this sector,” he continues. “I would like to sincerely thank everyone for the pleasant cooperation all these years.”
