CptnZeppos: the story of a unique travel agency from Antwerp
Antwerp-based Joris Van Bree started a special project in 2019: with his travel agency CptnZeppos, he wanted passengers to travel on board cargo ships. "Weeks at sea, without Wi-Fi or entertainment: it's a way to reconnect with yourself and nature."
Slow traveling, that's the name of the way of travelling that appeals to Joris Van Bree. The trend started to gain momentum ten years ago, and offers an alternative to an increasingly busy and fast-paced life and to the stress of FOMO (fear of missing out, ed.) Van Bree responded to this when choosing a name for his travel agency. "Kapitein Zeppos was a popular Flemish youth series during the sixties. It was broadcast in more than ten countries worldwide, as far away as New Zealand and Japan. The main character Kapitein Zeppos (Captain Zeppos, Senne Rouffaer, ed.) plays the English gentleman who rode on horseback and with his amphicar. We were charmed by the slowness of the series, the mysterious and friendly captain, and its Flemish and international success."
Living in a port city like Antwerp can be inspiring. That's how Joris Van Bree came up with the idea to start CptnZeppos after a bike ride through the port of Antwerp. "I saw a Filipino sailor on board a cargo ship waving at me. I became curious about what life is like on board. Until then, I worked as an order supervisor in various printing companies. After a visit to the Red Star Line Museum, I decided to travel from our home port to New York on one of those cargo ships. On the Atlantic Ocean, I experienced that this way of traveling cannot be compared to anything. That's how the idea arose to share that fantastic experience with others. CptnZeppos was born."
Sustainable travel
This fantastic experience is broader than just being surrounded by water and air. Joris Van Bree: "It's a simple life. You'll have three meals a day, a private cabin with bathroom, but no wifi or entertainment. You do have plenty of time to reconnect with yourself and nature. And because there are always seagoing vessels with empty cabins, we can always offer options to our customers."
"In the meantime, people from outside Europe have also found us. They see this as a sustainable way of travelling, as an alternative to flying. Our passengers love seas and oceans, but they don't like entertainment and crowds. For each route, you will find the requirements for travelling with a cargo ship on our website: you must have the necessary visas and vaccinations and be fully vaccinated against covid. In addition, you will need a medical certificate from your GP. And it is important that you can climb the stairs without any problems, because there is not always an elevator on the ship."
COVID-19
Over the past two years, it has become clear how important shipping is to our daily lives. The corona crisis paralyzed the global shipping industry. As a result, the supply of many countries was jeopardized. In March 2021, there was the incident involving the Taiwanese cargo ship Ever Given, which blocked the Suez Canal for almost a week and also caused major delays in shipping and global transport and logistics.
Due to Russia's war against Ukraine, there are now new problems that prevent passengers from departing from Russian ports. "All our passengers have rebooked their journey via a different route," says Van Bree. "Above all, we are still experiencing the consequences of the corona crisis. After two years of silence, during which passengers were not allowed on board cargo ships due to corona, we can now finally allow passengers to travel within Europe again. Travelling outside Europe will be possible again from the beginning of 2023. The shipping companies with ships that call at ports in Singapore, among others, do not allow us to let passengers book a cabin."
Fantastic encounters
As an entrepreneur in the tourism sector, ending up in an unprecedented global health crisis after just one year is quite a challenge in itself. But Joris Van Bree didn't give up and kept working. "I was optimistic and wanted to make my own dream and that of others come true. For example, there was a couple from Kontich who told me about their plan to cycle to Singapore and travel back to Antwerp on a cargo ship. And we also made a CptnZeppos video of Klaus wanting to relive the journey of his parents who migrated to Canada by packet boat."
For more information and bookings, please visit the CptnZeppos website. Trips by cargo ship via CptnZeppos take between 6 and 119 days.
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