An early morning heavy downpour that soaked the quiet streets of Bandar Seri Begawan failed to dampen the spirit of patriotism, love and loyalty towards the nation as thousands of citizens and residents flooded the capital on February 23, 2017, to celebrate Brunei Darussalam’s 33rd National Day. A total of 76 BGC members marched in unison across the Taman Haji Sir Muda Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien’s stretch in a show of patriotism and loyalty, while waving the mini Brunei flags. 2017 marked BGC’s fifth consecutive year in participation. BGC’s acting Managing Director, Koh Hui Ling led the delegation of BGC office staff and seafarers.

Brunei Gas Carriers Sdn Bhd (BGC) recently held a Promotion Ceremony at their main office in Jerudong, to officiate the promotion of the company’s second LNG Captain. The ceremony saw BGC’s Managing Director, Haji Shabudin bin Haji Musa presenting the insignia to Mohd Shahbrin bin Ibrahim, BGC’s second Ship Master. Witnessing this auspicious event were Mohd Shahbrin’s family members and BGC’s management. With this important milestone, BGC as of 2016, now has two local Captains and three Chief Engineers amongst the ranks. BGC’s Cadetship Programme is one of the initiatives of BGC to realise its objective to create opportunities for young Bruneians to pursue their aspiration to be part of the oil and gas industry, especially in the area of LNG transportation. The main objective of the programme is to have an LNG Fleet fully manned by Bruneians by 2020. In line with this mission, BGC strives continuously to set the benchmark for local mariners and engineers who will be the backbone of the Brunei’s marine industry. BGC believes and recognises the importance of skilled talent to deal with the country’s economic product – LNG. With that in mind, BGC continues to invest in educating the youth and to supply high-quality marine officers from all ranks to work on board their vessels. BGC employs 100% Bruneians for its onshore operations and currently BGC’s ships are manned by a fully trained crew, 85% of whom are Bruneians.

A HANDOVER ceremony for items from the previously recycled vessel of Brunei Shell Tankers Sdn Bhd (BST), Bilis was held between Brunei Gas Carriers Sdn Bhd (BGC) on behalf of BST and the Brunei Maritime Academy (BMA) yesterday. The ceremony took place at the BGC main office in Jerudong. Signing on behalf of the organisations were Haji Shahbudin bin Haji Musa, BGC’s Managing Director, and Suhaimi bin Haji Abdul Wahab, head of BMA. The items, comprising equipment, were handed over to BMA as part of BGC’s social investment initiative in line with the Brunei Vision 2035 to support educational activities as well as to support the Energy Industry Competency Framework (EICF) for the development of the maritime industry in Brunei. Bilis was one of the seven ‘B’ class vessels under BST delivering liquified natural gas (LNG) to Japan and was recycled in 2014. Built in 1975, the youngest and biggest of all the ‘B’ class vessels has made several achievements over the years starting with being the first of the ‘B’ class vessels to be issued with an Environment Notation Certification from Lloyd’s Register. Bilis was also the first to obtain Lloyd’s Register’s Green Passport Certification. On June 15, 2005, the vessel delivered Brunei LNG’s 5,000th cargo at the Negishi Terminal in Japan and repeated the success by winning the international acclaim for the 6,000th ship delivery from all LNG projects worldwide, that arrived at Sodegaura, Japan in July 2007. Of BST’s seven ‘B’ class vessels, namely Bubuk, Bilis, Bekalang, Bekulan, Belais, Bebatik and Belanak, that were chartered to Brunei LNG, only two – Bebatik and Belanak – are currently operational. Borneo Bulletin

BRUNEI GAS CARRIERS (BGC) hosted its inaugural event for registered vendors on Friday, October 14, 2016, at the Goldstone Ballroom in Centrepoint Hotel, Gadong. The event, known as RAKAN, stands for Raising Awareness, Knowledge and Networking with BGC and was attended by 150 guests including BGC staff. The main purpose of the event was to foster collaborative relationships with its local business partners by raising awareness on the standards of excellence required to fulfil its mission of “Shipping Energy First-Class”. Featured themes included upcoming business opportunities specific to the LNG Shipping industry, managing HSSE in contracts, BGC’s Code of Conduct, Payment processes within BGC and Local Business Development (LBD) Reporting requirements. The event began with the recital of a Doa Selamat led by BGC’s Religious Counselor, Hj Mohamad Yazid Abd Ranni, and was followed by a speech delivered by BGC Contracts and Procurement Manager, Pg Dianawaty binti Pg Hj Matzin. The event also saw the launch of BGC’s Vendor Portal by BGC’s Managing Director. The introduction of the self-service portal, was part of the first phase of BGC’s recently implemented enterprise resourcing planning system, named “AXiS”, and would allow BGC’s registered vendors to check their status and update information with BGC online. RAKAN is also an initiative in line with BGC’s Social Performance commitment to continuously engage stakeholders, in this instance with BGC’s existing local business partners. The event provided a networking opportunity for local business partners to share learnings and experiences of working in the industry. It was highlighted that among the tenets of developing local businesses under the Energy White Paper was to foster businesses that embody true Bruneian principles, including the practice of upholding business integrity. To establish business with BGC, vendors were urged to heed the call for fair and transparent process by having a solid corporate governance system in place. This is the first time that such an event has been organized by BGC, realizing the increasing role BGC has towards overall economic welfare of the country and local business development. Since 2012, BGC has been embarking on a journey towards becoming a fully-fledged Ship Management Company in its own right where among the key elements of this transition involves the management of contracts in support of its operations, which is currently managed by Shell Trading and Shipping Co. Ltd (STASCO) in London.

BRUNEI Gas Carriers Sdn Bhd (BGC) hosted a Korban ceremony in conjunction with the Hari Raya Aidiladha celebration, yesterday at Sayyidina Husain Secondary School, Jerudong.

The event began with the recitation of Surah Al-Fatihah, followed by a religious talk by BGC’s Religious Counsellor, Haji Mohammad Yazid bin Abd Ranni.

Over 200 recipients from Mukim Sengkurong community registered under Brunei Islamic Religious Council (MUIB) as well as staff members of BGC received sacrificial meat presented by BGC’s Managing Director Haji Shahbudin bin Haji Musa, HSE Manager Haji Yusof and IT Manager Mazlan Gafar. The event also aimed on giving part back to the society and on the same time fostering goodwill and relationship with the staff members of BGC. Borneo Bulletin

THE Brunei Gas Carriers (BGC), under its social investment initiative, presented a cash donation to the Tumpuan Telisai Primary School after a fire broke out at the school. The donation presentation was held yesterday at the school with Sharifah Eliza Elaine binti Syed Haji Hashim, Corporate and External Affairs Executive, presenting the donations on behalf of BGC. Receiving on behalf of the school was Mohmad Ali bin Haji Nudin, the school Headmaster. Also present was YB Awang Haji Ramli bin Haji Lahit, a member of the Legislative Council and Penghulu of Mukim Telisai. Two of the school’s classrooms were badly affected by the fire which occurred on different times on Sunday morning. According to the fire department, the first fire occurred around 3am, while the second fire occurred at around 6.49am in a different area of the school. The school headmaster, in an interview said one of the classrooms belonged to special needs students and the other belonged to Year 6 students. Currently, the affected students are relocated elsewhere, where the affected Year 6 students are currently using the school hall, while the special needs students are using a conference room at an administrative block. The headmaster told the Bulletin that the donation will first be used towards replacing destroyed education aid equipment for the special needs students. He also expressed the school’s appreciation and gratitude to BGC for the kind contribution. He said, BGC was the first company to respond to the unfortunate event and the school was very grateful for that. He said the school was also grateful to other agencies including the fire and rescue department for containing the fire successfully on Sunday. The school is also grateful to the police, who are now carrying out an investigation on the school fires. The school is also grateful to the electrical services for helping to restore electricity as the school reopened yesterday. In an interview during the presentation ceremony, BGC Corporate and External Affairs Advisors, Ili Aiman Abdul Rahman explained that the donation was BGC’s response to the fire as part of BGC Social Investment Initiatives. Recently, BGC also did ‘Project Amali’, another part of BGC Social Investment Initiatives which helps the less fortunate. The most recent event in this project was an iftar with special needs students of Centre for Children with Special Needs (KACA) and Pusat Ehsan Al-Ameerah Al-Hajjah Maryam (Pusat Ehsan), where BGC treated the students with an opulent spread of Ramadhan delicacies at Tarindak D’Seni Hall at the Brunei Arts and Handicraft Training Centre in Kota Batu.

A TOTAL of 80 special needs students from the Centre for Children with Special Needs (KACA) and Pusat Bahagia and their families had the opportunity to break fast with Brunei Gas Carriers Sdn Bhd (BGC) staff yesterday at the Tarindak D’Seni Hall at the Arts and Handicrafts Centre in Kota Batu. Held as part of BGC’s social investment initiative, the event commenced with a recitation of prayers, followed by a speech from Haji Shahbudin bin Haji Musa, Managing Director of BGC, a Tausyeh performance by Firqah Ulfah Raudah Nasyid group, presentation of gifts to the students, Tahlil and Doa Selamat, and the iftar. In his opening remarks, Haji Shahbudin emphasised the need to remember the less fortunate in the society. He hoped that the event will foster a sense of responsibility and strengthen relations between BGC and the community. The event also saw the managing director distribute goodie bags to the students and presentation of Waqaf items including wheel-chairs, television sets and DVD players. The items, collectively funded by the BGC management team, were received by the Managing Director of KACA and the Assistant Director of Pusat Bahagia. The iftar event, which is held annually during the month of Ramadhan, is part of BGC’s corporate social responsibility. Borneo Bulletin

SIX underprivileged families in Mukim Sengkurong and Mukim Lumut Liang received food and supermarket vouchers yesterday as part of a social investment initiative by Brunei Gas Carriers (BGC). Around 50 BGC employees, led by Haji Shahbudin bin Haji Musa, Managing Director of BGC, participated in a donation and a cleaning campaign at three houses in Sengkurong, and three in Lumut. During the visits to selected families, daily necessities in the form of rice, drinks and oil, goodie bags for children, and supermarket vouchers were donated to the recipient families. Personal donations were also given to the families. Two of the recipients were Rosli bin Haji Ladi, 47, and his disabled brother Hasbi bin Haji Ladi, 51, who live in Kampong Batu Ampar. “We feel very happy and blessed for these gifts. They will help ease our burdens during the fasting month and Hari Raya,” said Rosli bin Haji Ladi. In each house visit, a short blessing ceremony with a recitation of prayers was held, followed by a presentation of donations. Project Amali was established in 2013 as part of BGC’s corporate social responsibility. BGC works closely with the Community Development Department (JAPEM) at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports for the selection of families. The initiative provides an opportunity for BGC staff to be good role models and make contributions to the community, in addition to fostering a sense of connection and responsibility. Borneo Bulletin

THE Brunei Gas Carriers Sendirian Berhad (BGC) conducted a blood donation drive held at its headquarters in Jerudong. The campaign saw the Managing Director of BGC, Haji Shahbudin bin Haji Musa, taking part in the event with fellow staff and personnel. The campaign was one of the several community events held as part of the company’s social investment initiatives which is an integral element of its Healthy Lifestyle Programme (HLP). BGC has donated blood to the RIPAS Hospital Blood Donation Centre four times, and has also invited government stakeholders at the Brunei Maritime Academy (BMA), the Fire and Rescue Department and neighbouring stakeholders in the Jerudong area, to participate in its campaigns. The act of donating blood is the company’s commitment to help the community develop, as well as to raise awareness on the need for safe blood transfusions and the significant role blood donation plays in saving human lives. The campaign is held annually and aims to foster a sense of caring and responsibility among BGC staff and community to assist in replenishing the blood bank and provide aid to patients who are in urgent need of blood. Borneo Bulletin