Working in tourism was this lady from Zeeland’s first love. But then the maritime world and TOS crossed her path in 2012. Isabelle van der Paal learned all there is to know about maritime paperwork, the seaman’s book, 12-hour work days, and swapping Zeeland for Rotterdam. But she eventually bid TOS farewell to return to Zeeland. That said … TOS is firmly embedded in her heart, and she is again a member of the TOS family, but this time in our office in Vlissingen. Read her story.
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Getting to know the maritime world
“I remember looking through online vacancies to see what was available and what kind of jobs I would be considered for. I eventually saw the Back Office Assistant job vacancy at TOS in Vlissingen. I had never heard of TOS. In fact, I had never really thought about working in the maritime sector and had never even known that there were companies that specialised in supplying maritime personnel. But the vacancy did appeal to me, and I applied.”
A monster what?
“Between 2012 and 2016, I immersed myself completely in the maritime sector. I was overwhelmed with new information in the first few months. I learned about maritime documents. The first time I heard about the monsterboekje (seaman’s book), I thought it such a strange term and did not understand what it was all about. The first time I saw a Worksheet which gave 12-hour days for four consecutive weeks, I wondered when the people had weekend breaks. But I quickly learned that that was not how it worked.” A whole world opened up for Isabelle and she explored everything there is to know about this dynamic sector.
“I started by organising crew changes all over the world. For years I looked for good matches between clients and people looking for work. The work was divided into projects and was very diverse, from receiving vacancies to sending invoices and everything in between. Sometimes the projects were ad hoc, and some lasted a long time. Sometimes the work was local in a port in the Netherlands, and sometimes in a country far away. I then booked the travel and applied for visas. You need to know the current status of local legislation and regulations to arrange this properly. Never a dull moment.”
![](https://www.tos.nl/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Crewtender_Vlissingen_TOS-scaled.jpg)
![](https://www.tos.nl/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Isabelle_Rijkswaterstaat_schip_TOS.png)
![](https://www.tos.nl/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Team_Rijkswaterstaat_TOS.png)
![](https://www.tos.nl/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Rederijendag_stand_Terschelling_TOS.png)
Rotterdam and building a career
“It did not take long before I exchanged the boulevard of Vlissingen for the Waalhaven in Rotterdam. I started working at the head office and even moved to Rotterdam. I wanted nothing other than to grow even more and I had that opportunity at TOS. I started by working on recruitment tasks, wrote my first vacancies, and got to know many seafarers.
I became a Junior Consultant, and learned the commercial tasks and everything there is to know about relationship management. I continued to develop. I was extremely happy in my job! The combination of an interesting market, diverse tasks, and above all the atmosphere of this wonderful family company meant that I promised myself that I would work here until I retired.”
But Isabelle left TOS in the autumn of 2016. Why?
![](https://www.tos.nl/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Machinekamer_rondleiding_Joanne_Isabelle_TOS.png)
![](https://www.tos.nl/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Scheepsbezoek_Isabelle_haven_Vlissingen_TOS-scaled.jpg)
![](https://www.tos.nl/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/Isabelle_Achouak_visiting_New_York_TOS.jpg)
Homesick
“I reluctantly returned to Zeeland. Not because I did not like being at TOS, but because I was homesick. You can take a girl out of Zeeland, but you can’t take Zeeland out of the girl 😉. I worked for two of TOS’s clients in the years thereafter. I learned even more about ships and projects. I learned even more clearly about what I needed to be aware of when recruiting crew and I learned how things really were at ‘the client’. Despite the maritime sector being so international, it is a small world. I still worked a lot with TOS on hiring personnel. I always stayed in contact with the colleagues who had worked there for years. Every year I went to TOS’ New Year’s Reception at Hotel New York. And once again I felt homesick. Homesick for TOS.”
Best of both worlds
“Luckily for me TOS underwent some positive changes when it took over C-Port, a port logistics company in Vlissingen which then sailed on under the TOS flag. A TOS office was opened there, at Visserijkade 101, in 2022. It did not take long before I was wishing my old colleagues a good morning and started working as a Consultant at TOS again. But this time it was in Vlissingen with weekly visits to Rotterdam. For me, I had the best of both worlds. I am back in this wonderful family company with its Rotterdam character. A company that describes itself as ‘loyal and true’ and operates under the slogan People who know the job. If I had not experienced these two expressions as true, I would probably never have come back.”
TOS is still dynamic. There is still a lot of space for growth and development. Many of the same colleagues that Isabelle worked with when she first came into contact with TOS in 2012 are still there. In the meantime, the teams have grown with new international colleagues and there are a lot of different cultures at the office. “TOS has grown, but it has still managed to retain the same values. It is good to be back and this time I will make it come true: I will stay here until I retire!”