Professional career

Peter van Poortvliet was born in the village of Heijningen in the Netherlands. After secondary school, he moved to Rotterdam to study Information Technology at Albeda College 

After graduating, he worked for a Dutch security company for a few years and switched to the maritime sector in 2004. In June 2007, he joined Strategic Shipping & Charting as an operator and demurrage negotiator, and two years later was promoted to the chartering and special operations department, focusing on West Africa. 

During his career, he gained extensive experience in complex logistical operations and project management. Several government agencies in West Africa and Northern Europe were part of his portfolio and used his services as a consultant or facilitator for maritime projects.
 

Peter founded the S4M Group of Companies in the Netherlands in 2016, which is a ship owner, and another public transport company in Cameroon and Nigeria in 2017, which focuses on developing and operating ferry routes and bus services.
 

As Sunhorse Trading GmbH, and later Sunhorse Trading B.V., started their first activities, he joined the team as Head of Operations.