Day of the Seafarer is a special day for all of us here working in the maritime industry—a day dedicated to our esteemed colleagues who are out at sea, to recognise and celebrate their sacrifices in ensuring the safe and timely delivery of our LNG cargoes to Brunei Darussalam’s international customers.
In 2022, with the theme “Your voyage—then and now, share your journey,” we organised an interview with two of our most seasoned seafarers, one who joined the company as the first intake of the BGC Cadetship Programme back in year 2000 and another who joined as the fourth intake back in 2003. Fast-forward to today, we are very proud to have played an instrumental part in their achievements as they currently form part of our backbone in BGC, with Pg Nor Hazman bin Pg Haji Abdul Hamid serving as the Acting Fleet Manager, and Captain Mohammad Shazelli bin Haji Damon, one of six BGC Fleet Captains. Do catch their informative stories on today’s Borneo Bulletin newspaper.
BGC’s Acting Managing Director, Captain Mateen bin Abdurrahman Liew, also a proud member of BGC’s first cadetship intake recalls on his earlier days working in the maritime industry back in the early 2000s, saying, “A lot of us came a long way, starting our careers over two decades ago. There were no “Day of the Seafarer” celebrations then to commemorate and recognise the invaluable contributions made by seafarers to the world. It was only in 2011, that the maritime industry led by IMO, made it to the annual list of United Nations Annual Observances.
‘Your voyage – then and now, share your journey’ for me is about how much times have changed over the period, for the better i.e., safety standards, welfare, terms & conditions, communications. There are some things that haven’t changed significantly from when I first started i.e., shore leave restrictions or tour lengths, but we are making steps to address this.”
To all our BGC family out at sea and to those currently onshore, we wish you a Happy Day of the Seafarer!