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OVER 500
seafaring cadets from seven maritime countries recently
took a day’s break from their lessons on ship
operations, meteorology and sea navigation aboard the
international training ship T/S Spirit of MOL to assume
new roles—protectors of the environment.
With
their environmentalist’s caps, shovels and sacks in tow,
the cadet cleanup volunteers from
China,
India, Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, Russia and
Vietnam trooped to the coastal areas behind the SM Mall
of Asia Complex in Pasay City to help rid Manila Bay of
as much garbage and pollutants as they could remove.
The
world’s leading shipping company Mitsui O.S.K. Lines
Ltd. (MOL), Magsaysay Maritime Corp., and their local
partners from other maritime schools were represented by
their officers and staff in the environmental activity.
Transportation and Communications Undersecretary Ma.
Elena Bautista, Philippine Reclamation Area general
manager and CEO Andrea Domingo, Magsaysay Maritime Corp.
COO Marlon Roño and SM Mall of Asia executives also lent
their support to the project.
Mitsui
O.S.K. Lines Tokyo Executive officer Capt. Soichi
Hiratsuka flew in from Japan to unveil a marker
representing the company’s commitment to environmental
protection and preservation.
“The
main objective of this activity is to cultivate among
our cadets a strong sense of care and concern for our
endangered environment. We hope to achieve this by
volunteering to clean adopted sites in T/S Spirit of
MOL’s various ports of call,” Captain Hiratsuka said.
Owned
and operated by MOL, T/S Spirit of MOL is the first
training ship to be managed by a private shipping firm.
The 4,878-ton vessel, which serves as a training ground
for a cross-cultural mix of 180 cadets, was built in
response to the global demand for competent seafarers
and its fleet expansion.
MOL
operates more than 800 ships of various types worldwide,
and plans to expand its fleet to 1,000 by 2010. It
employs over 13,000 Filipino seafarers.
“At MOL,
we advocate not only health and safety, but also
environmental protection. Before they join our ships,
we train our cadets to become seafarers who will be
responsible for the preservation of our environment,”
the Japanese maritime expert said.
Loving
and protecting the marine environment, according to
Capt. Joel Abutal, dean of the Mitsui O.S.K. Maritime
Training Corp., is the lesson that they wish to impart
among their cadets through their voluntary participation
in clean ups of coastal areas. “We hope these cadets
will be transformed into responsible seafarers who will
ensure full compliance with all national and
international regulations in protecting the marine
environment once they join our ships,” he added.
In
January 2008 T/S Spirit of MOL cadets also implemented a
beach cleanup program in Boracay Island, and planted
trees at Mambukal Park in Negros Occidental. |
