“Starting a project is always challenging; even when another project has been executed before at the same location, there is always something new. At the Contecar Terminal Project the BHD Magnor made her debut. This was an honor, but also a challenge. It does not only involve new equipment, there is also a new crew. The same goes for the auxiliary units Union Topaz and Union Onyx. They are all experienced people, working in different units, in different teams, having to work together. I see that the NINA culture, which is common to all of us, helps. It helps to approach things (safety related and otherwise) in a similar way.

This binding characteristic is important: through NINA we speak the same language. Talking about languages, Contecar Terminal only has Spanish speaking people to give their own induction. This is a four hour induction with some very specific subjects, due to the drug related crime in this area. For example: to obtain a gate pass breathing tests are carried out frequently to avoid drunk people entering the terminal. The tolerance is zero. We proposed Contecar Terminal to introduce NINA in Spanish to their people and to give the English speaking people a NINA training combined with a summary of their induction. We started with introducing NINA to different departments of Contecar such as Safety, Security, Operations. This way they noticed that our standards meet their requirements and they agreed to go on with it.

During the project we have proved that our commitment to safety is more than words: it is how we act. Within our working area an obstruction was identified by the client: a steel pipe standing straight up. We treated this issue very seriously: we prepared a work method statement and a JHA for it and explained the maneuver in detail to the client. As a result the execution ran smoothly. This did not go unnoticed by Contecar and as per their words: ‘Boskalis es la berraqueraaa*!’”

* Berraquera: Typical Colombian word applicable for decided persons, someone who is not easily stopped, tenacious, ready to face difficulties and capable of great tasks.