"I was 50 years old, and doing quite well for myself," says the smiling Dutchman. "But when the Searcher came up for sale it was attractive for me... it was time to take a risk."
At that time, Van Royen had been working out of Singapore on-and-off since 1972 as a consultant and a company man. He had been posted on different rig projects to countries in West Africa, the Mediterranean, the Persian Gulf and Asia.
"I
