Imagine being responsible for transporting millions of tons of heavy equipment around the world?

In sun, wind, and high seas Dutch Master Captain William van Vugt does just that on his ship the Jumbo Fairlane, travelling to ports in Asia, Africa, Europe, Canada, and the US.

Tonight Captain William van Vugt will oversee the transportation of almost 1.5 million tons of Belco electrical equipment through the streets of Hamilton after transporting it all the way from Rotterdam, in the Netherlands. His ship arrived in Hamilton on Thursday evening and is currently berthed at dock number seven.

Using 400-ton remote control powered cranes, Captain van Vugt will begin unloading generators and heavy equipment at 1 p.m. from the Jumbo Fairlane.

The two 14.5-megawatt engines and related heavy equipment will be unloaded at 8 p.m. and heavy trucks, with Police escort, will begin to move the load west along Front Street to Queen Street, onto Par la Ville Road then continue north to Belco's Cemetery Road facility.

Roads in that area will be closed as the heavy hauling crawls along its route, the trip is expected to take about three hours.

The equipment will be installed at the Serpentine Road Plant for summer, 2005. The extra horsepower is being added to keep pace with Bermuda's growing hunger for electricity.

Since 1965, Captain van Vugt has trained for a life at sea, beginning a career that takes him from his home for up to a year at a time. Now, stints at sea can last for between three and eight months.

Growing up in the Netherlands he said, instilled an appreciation for life at sea once the port is "all but a dot in the distance".

"As soon as we are out of the bay I always call the engineers and say 'bye bye my friends, at last we are on our own'," he said.

"This is a job where you have to do yourself, there's no one else who can help you."

Before a sea journey begins, a team of engineers draw up plans for the ship, outlining the storage and loading strategies. Once the ship leaves port, the Captain is boss despite the pre-set technical strategy.

"The engineer in the department gives advice on how to stow and handle it, if I agree or don't agree, I give a damn good reason why, but in the end the decision is with the Captain, and also the responsibility is completely on the Captain.

"There is no way and there can be no doubt, and there's also no discussion."

This no-nonsense approach is necessary for the captain, who has to iron out any personality issues between his 16 crew members, and make sure every detail of transport, down to the last centimetre, is correct.

He has never had an accident during transportation, which he attributes to a confident, responsible attitude.

"I can't be nervous, that would reflect on my crew and I can not do it alone. I need my crew and my engineers," he said.

"One of the challenges is taking 16 different people with very different personalities and making it all work."

Captain van Vugt has trained at nautical college and takes refresher courses in first aid, fire fighting and general training.

He powered the ship to Bermuda at 16 knots, the crew enjoying a smooth, sunny trip.

On board, Jumbo Fairlane has a full bar, a dining room, kitchen, and plenty of DVDs and books to pass the time at sea.

After leaving Bermuda, the Jumbo Fairlane will travel to Albany, New York to load 330-ton turbines to be shipped to Spain.

So will the energetic Captain continue to embrace a life which takes you to the most remote corners of the world?

Most definitely.

"It's about a free life, and what more is more important in life than freedom?"