Gerhard Van Der Spuy

Adventure and job satisfaction in an emergency response vessel

Skipper

Emergency Response Vessel, Nigeria

How does someone find adventure and job satisfaction after a military career which placed them on fast attack craft armed with missiles, on vessels that could find and destroy mines and, finally, on submarines? The answer, for Gerhard van der Spuy, was to join G4S in an unusual role – as skipper of an emergency response vessel that the company uses in Nigeria on its secure solutions contract in the Niger Delta with the American oil giant Chevron.

The 33-year-old South African is a member of the land and sea-based G4S team protecting this customer’s interests in a part of the world that has been prone to attacks on oil and gas facilities as well as kidnaps. Though Gerhard is no stranger to danger, he prefers to focus on the pleasures of his job. As skipper of one of two vessels currently operated by G4S Nigeria for Chevron, he works by day or by night, on alternating two-week shifts.

So what precisely do the vessels do? He and his colleagues on the emergency vessels are trained in search and rescue, casualty evacuation, general assistance at sea and the management of risks and liabilities for the client. They also assist in managing the movements of fishing vessels around dangerous areas where oil production-related work is being conducted.

The days that give him the greatest satisfaction are those involving rescues. “To utilise all your knowledge and skill to deal with a difficult situation and successfully rescue survivors from the sea, and then to experience the gratitude on their faces, is a reward that cannot be purchased. Every time is unique and the feeling of accomplishment lingers for days.”

Download the PDF: Gerhard Van Der Spuy