What became of Jan Rautawaara?

What became of Jan Rautawaara?

Shipwreck rescuer instead of luxury ship captain: This is what the captain of the "Crystal Endeavor" does today.

Business partners Juha Pokka (left) and Jan Rautawaara are rebuilding an old ship. As the condition of the deck shows, there is a lot to do.

After the world's largest expedition cruise ship left Stralsund, Jan Rautawaara's time there also came to an end. He was the first captain of the "Crystal Endeavour." However, he continues to pursue his maritime passion.

By Peer Schmidt-Walther

February 15, 2023, 12:03 a.m.

Stralsund. 

In 2021, Jan Rautawaara steered the 20,000-ton "Crystal Endeavor" out of the city. With that, the era of large shipbuilding in the Hanseatic city came to a temporary end. The chapter of Stralsund also closed for the captain. Since 2018, he had been living in Andershof with his wife and two dogs. "It's such a shame to be leaving. We'll miss the city terribly," he said at the time. What became of him?

At MV Werften, he was responsible for construction supervision and thus the contact person for all the companies on behalf of the Genting shipping company. He still hoped that the second ship, whose engines and one deck were already stored in the hall, would find a buyer and that construction would begin. "That would have become my home ship – and we could have stayed in Stralsund."

"My biography is anything but maritime."

But as we all know, things turned out differently: shipyards went bankrupt, layoffs, restructuring. Whether another ship of that size will ever be built at the Volkswerft shipyard remains to be seen. Even though the Norwegian Fosen shipbuilding group is already in the starting blocks.

Translated from the article of Ostsee-Zeitung