Ynke began her career in maritime law in 1994 at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management. Her primary focus was on drafting legislation and regulations, which required frequent interaction with policy departments and field operations. This experience enabled her to build strong ties with government bodies and to engage extensively with public interests and politically sensitive issues.

In 1996, Ynke joined Van Dam en Kruidenier as a maritime lawyer specialising in inland navigation. This firm, founded in 1909, was highly specialized in inland navigation law.

From 2002 to 2004, Ynke broadened her expertise in legal management at Deloitte & Touche, where she established a legal department.

In 2004, she returned to legal practice and joined the Rotterdam law firm VANDIJK, where she set up and developed her inland navigation practice. In 2008, Ynke successfully completed the Grotius specialist programme in Transport Law.

From 2018 until 2025, Ynke worked at Boonk Van Leeuwen, where she further developed and expanded her practice.

Throughout her legal career, Ynke has specialised in inland navigation law, providing legal support to various clients, including insurers, shipowners, shipping companies, and industry associations. Her practice encompasses advisory services, litigation, and legal assistance in civil, public, criminal, and disciplinary matters.

The sectors she serves also include freight and passenger transport by (ferry) boat as well as commercial boat tours at sea and on rivers, including motorized passenger vessels and sailing ships.

For more than ten years, Ynke has contributed a legal column to Scheepvaartkrant, where she writes accessible legal articles on maritime topics. In addition, she is a frequent speaker at conferences in the Netherlands and abroad.

In 2024, Ynke was appointed a member of the Legal Committee of the IVR.

Additional contributions

Published scholarly articles on inland navigation and maritime law in Tijdschrift voor Vervoer en Recht (TVR) in 2023 and 2024.

Memberships

Dutch Association of Maritime and Transport Law

Dutch Association of Transport Law Attorneys

WISTA

Languages

Dutch, English, Italian, French, German

Legal fields of practice

Ynke is registered in the Netherlands Bar Association’s register of legal practice areas for the following principal (and secondary) legal fields: general practice, transport and commercial law.

Based on this registration, she is required to obtain ten continuing education credits each calendar year in each registered legal field, in accordance with the standards of the Netherlands Bar Association.