Gerwil Crewing places maritime personnel in jobs all over the world. And those people need to be able to travel to their destinations safely, efficiently, and comfortably. To that end, Gerwil Crewing has been working with Munckhof Business Travel for many years, to everyone’s great satisfaction.

Louwe Hakvoort himself was the owner and captain of a coaster when, in early 2000, he saw opportunities emerging in the market for the placement of maritime personnel due to changes in laws and regulations. He founded Gerwil Crewing, which now has offices in the Netherlands, Latvia, and the Philippines. “We are active worldwide in the recruitment, selection, and placement of maritime personnel. Through us, people work in inland shipping, maritime shipping, offshore, heavy lifting, dredging, and more – basically anything that floats.”

The people seconded by Gerwil Crewing all have to travel to their work locations. And those can be just about anywhere in the world. To ensure that this business travel runs as smoothly as possible in every respect, Gerwil Crewing has been using the services of Munckhof Business Travel for years. This division of the Munckhof Group has eight offices, with those in Schiedam and Groningen specializing in Marine Travel.

A word is enough

“Over the years, we’ve built up a very solid and stable portfolio of maritime clients. It’s our job to ensure that their crew members, officers, technicians, and office staff are transported safely to and from ships all over the world,” explains Bas de Smit on behalf of Munckhof.

“Our Marine Travel team understands how the maritime world thinks and operates. We speak the lingo and know exactly how aviation works for seafarers. In an industry where concise communication is the norm, our team only needs a word or two from a client. The people Gerwil deploys have to travel internationally to do their jobs. We ensure that this happens safely, comfortably, and efficiently.”

The way Munckhof Business Travel handles this is of great added value to Gerwil Crewing. “Interacting with the people at Munckhof is always pleasant. They are professional and proactive, and they act quickly and competently when the situation calls for it, at any time of day,” explains Hakvoort. “Munckhof is also very attentive to airline offerings. As a result, our people always fly at very reasonable rates and under good conditions.” 

Booking flights online yourself

Moreover, developments in these services are ongoing. About four years ago, Muckhof Business Travel launched the AVA Maritime system. This enables companies to book, change, or cancel flights for seafarers online themselves, for which special arrangements are in place. De Smit: “With many providers, this can only be done offline, through consultants. We also offer that option, by the way, because some assignments require that extra service. At the same time, the self-reliance that AVA Maritime offers our clients is a huge advantage, because time is often crucial in that booking process.”

It’s a system that works exceptionally well for Gerwil Crewing, says Hakvoort. “We make full use of AVA Maritime. We book virtually all flights ourselves online, and that works very well. And if a complex or unexpected situation calls for other solutions, we’re fortunate to always be able to rely on Munckhof’s consultants. It’s simply the only provider that can meet our needs in this area. As a result, we always have insight into all the travel movements our people make. And that’s necessary to be able to respond quickly and accurately to changing circumstances.”

More than satisfied for 25 years

He cites as an example a situation involving a bomb attack in a city where Gerwil employees were present at the time. ‘Even before I heard about it on the news, I had already received a call from the Munckhof team. And within three minutes, it was clear that those crew members were safe. Even during the pandemic, thanks to Munckhof and their strong connections in the aviation industry, our people were still able to travel reasonably according to their contract periods. We really didn’t have to worry about that at all, and that was unique during that time.’

Louwe Hakvoort is therefore particularly pleased with the collaboration and service provided by Munckhof, both under normal circumstances and in particularly challenging situations. “There is a great deal of mutual trust, and quality is always delivered. I am more than satisfied with our collaboration, because in my view, it is perfect.”

This article was published as part of the Schuttevaer newspaper on May 29, 2026.