About me

My name is Ebbe Holsting, I am 39 years old and from Denmark. I am a licensed Dual Purpose Maritime Officer, currently working as a Chief Officer for Maersk Supply Service, a division of the Danish shipping company A. P. Moller - Maersk which is one of the world's largest operators of container and supply vessels.

I was originally born and brought up in the greater Copenhagen area, but now live in the city of Svendborg after moving here upon high school graduation in 2001 to begin my studies in the Maersk Cadet Training Programme, to which I had successfully applied in November, 2000.

In December 2005 I passed the final exams of the first part of the training programme, the Junior Officer Education, and received my first embarkation orders from A. P. Moller - Maersk just after New Year, joining the container fleet under Maersk Line. After sailing for 1½ years with the company's container vessels, I commenced the second part of the training programme, the Senior Officer Education, in the summer of 2007. October 2009 I completed the final part of the education: my bachelor thesis, and October 31st I graduated the Senior Officer Education as a Dual Purpose Senior Maritime Officer, with competencies as both Master Mariner and Marine Chief Engineer. With the education now fully completed, I returned to the fleet late November 2009.

After completing one final trip with Maersk Line I opted to transfer to Maersk Supply Service, joining my first supply vessel as an Officer in April 2010. During the next few years I worked as both Engineer and Navigator before I, in March 2015, chose to focus on the bridge / deck department and was offered promotion to Chief Officer and then Captain in 2021.

Certifications

• Certificate of Competency as Master, STCW II/2, Master's Unlimited ("Master's Ticket")
• Certificate of Competency as 2nd Engineer, STCW III/2, Second Engineer's Unlimited
• Certificate of Competency as Chief Engineer, STCW III/3, Propulsion power less than 3000 kW
• Certificate of Competency as Electro-technical Officer, STCW III/6, Unlimited
• GMDSS General Operator's Certificate, STCW IV/2, Unlimited
• Dynamic Positioning Operators Full Certificate, The Nautical Institute ("DP Unlimited")

What does "Menkent" mean?

Menkent, also known as Theta Centauri, is the name of one of the stars in the constellation Centaurus. In a mixture of Arabian and Greek Menkent means "The Shoulder of the Centaur", its name thereby given due to its position in the constellation.

Menkent was also the name of my room at Kogtved Søfartsskole, the maritime basic training school I attended for 5 months at the beginning of the course of my education. So the name "Menkent" also holds a fairly philosophic meaning by being "where it all started" in terms of my education.

www.menkent.dk was established in October 2003 in a time when information about modern life at sea was hard to come by. As a young lad wanting to go to sea I was privileged to have an older brother who could provide me with all the pictures and stories I could dream of. But this was exactly the issue - you had to know someone in the industry. That is how menkent.dk was born. I wanted to provide a "window with a sea view" on board modern vessels travelling the globe. The experience and feedback has been, and continues to be, amazing. Thank you for your support and interest!