Colleagues Lore and Bram on challenging cable project in Crete
Article from: Vlamingen in de wereld, number 113, spring 2021. Text: Koen Van Der Schaeghe
Overseas career
Colleagues Lore and Bram are working in Greece on a new masterpiece by the Jan De Nul Group. To be precise, they are laying and covering up an underwater power line between Crete and the Greek region of Peloponnesos. Bram explains the assignment: ‘At 135km, it’s one of the longest underwater power lines in the world. What makes this project extra challenging is that the line runs through very deep water over a difficult sea bed profile with extremely steep slopes. The work, with the use of the Isaac Newton cable ship, goes ahead up to 980 metres deep.’
Lore and Bram opted consciously for a career overseas. I spoke to them via Zoom on the mainland on the Greek side of the project. Lore is 24 and works within the QHSSE segment (Quality, Health, Safety, Security, Environment). Indeed, safety is a top priority in the Jan De Nul Group. Bram is 32 and, as Works Manager, makes sure that all the daily operations on site run smoothly. The international team is highly diverse in terms of mother tongues, levels of training, and jobs. Equally as important as the local co-ordination is close contact with the offices in Aalst and Luxembourg.
Deep sea challenge
The aim of this project is to reduce the cost of electricity generation on Crete and replace expensive and oil-based power stations with a more efficient alternative from overseas. The new connection will contribute to an increase in the share of sustainably generated electricity. Lore tells us: ‘Later this year, 34% of the total electricity demand on Crete should come from overseas. And so, that will come via a reliable network which, moreover, will not harm tourism. The fact that Crete lives from tourism has helped to determine the choice for an underwater power line. After all, extra power stations or windmills would damage the characteristic view of the island.’
This really is an assignment to suit the Jan De Nul Group, where a deep sea challenge is linked to technical know-how and precision work. The assignment certainly doesn’t stop once the cable is laid on the sea bed. The cable then needs protection, mainly against fishing activities. Bram says: ‘That protection varies, depending on the underground. Some parts of the cable lie on rocky ground. In that case those parts are fitted in advance with cast iron shells or the cable is installed in a channel excavated in advance. Where the cable comes to rest on sand, it is protected by burying it. Via two blades along the cable water is pumped at high pressure into the sea bed so that the ground opens up and the cable falls into place.’
Seeing the world
This is Lore’s third project, whilst Bram has about fifteen to his account. Some of his destinations appeal to the imagination. Think of Vietnam, Hong Kong, or Jamaica. ‘But don’t misunderstand me, you’ll often find us far away from civilisation in areas to be developed or cleaned up.’ Lore says: ‘They’re certainly locations which you might otherwise never see. My first project in Mauritania was like that.’ Lore grew up partly on the French-Swiss border. She’d had ambitions of a career abroad for a long time. ‘l want to see the world, so this company has a real attraction. The rapid alternation of projects really is my thing. Give me destinations where a lot has to be achieved in challenging conditions.’
Children of ex-patriots often choose an international path. Lore’s parents still lived in France when she went to Brussels to study at the age of eighteen. ‘They gave me the microbe. And sometimes they’d love to be in my position. I first heard of the Jan De Nul Group at university. During my studies, a job like this was my motivation. I’m really grateful that Jan De Nul took me on with no experience. Where I stay doesn’t actually matter all that much as long as I have an Internet connection. I’m young and I don’t want to tie myself down to a particular location. The fact that there are so many opportunities makes this an attractive job for me.’
‘l want to see the world, so this company has a real attraction. The rapid alternation of projects really is my thing. Give me destinations where a lot has to be achieved in challenging conditions.’
Lore Cloesen
Job with an extra dimension
Obviously, it’s a job with impact. And it’s far away from the home front. Bram has recently become a father and is staying with his Vietnamese wife in Greece. ‘It’s the first time that I’ve been on location as a married man. That makes the family aspect considerably more pleasant. There aren’t many projects for married couples who set out together simply because we operate in development areas. As an employer, the Jan De Nul Group is extremely family-friendly with plenty of attention and understanding for the home situation. We don’t know where we’re going to settle one day, but the time will come when our son deserves a settled place.’
Although the tools used are worth millions of euros, it’s clear that the employees themselves are the group’s main capital. A lot of attention is paid to the conditions. The sites are sometimes so remote that you can’t rely on anyone else except your colleagues. Bram says: ‘It’s a way of life, and not always with solid ground under your feet. And so, both team spirit and the support of your partner and family are crucial. Whether it’s a big project or a small one, you are in the same boat as your colleagues. That is to say, people with a certain mindset who also want to make the best of things after work. That forges a bond of daring and doing. The glass has to be half-full. In the first week, you mustn’t start thinking about when you can go home.’
"It’s a way of life, and not always with solid ground under your feet. And so, both team spirit and the support of your partner and family are crucial. Whether it’s a big project or a small one, you are in the same boat as your colleagues. That is to say, people with a certain mindset who also want to make the best of things after work. That forges a bond of daring and doing."
Bram Vande Walle
The magic of the unknown
‘That co-operation with colleagues and other cultures is so exciting,’ Lore says. ‘It broadens your knowledge of human nature, you experience a mix of cultures at work. For me this is a unique opportunity to develop my skills. I work as a single person, and this means that I work for two months and then have one month of holiday. It’s a choice. If I didn’t like it, I’d stop, but that’s certainly not in my thoughts. I’m always glad to be able to pack my suitcase and set off for a project.’
This is a dream job for both of them, with lots of variety and scope to show initiative. Lore says: ‘l love adapting to new surrounds, looking at everything, solving problems, and making contact. In Belgium you work in a fairly structured setting. That doesn’t appeal to me nearly as much. I need something new for professional satisfaction. If I stay on the same project for too long, I get the itch to move on.’ Bram says: ‘We’re on the front line of developments. That experience is a great surplus.’