The “Spirit” of Rufus

May 20, 2008

THE coming of TIS Spirit ofthe MOL in town was one of the promises Rep. Rufus Rodriguez, (PMP Second District of Cagayan de Oro), made when he ran for a Congress seat in 2007.

Rufus invited the Spirit of MOL to come to Cagayan de Oro City in hopes that Cagayanons would find lucrative jobs in the international maritime industry.

The training ship conducted a “job fair” at the of Macabalan area here last May 12. The training ship skippered by Capt. Ayumu Kurihara with Chief Engr. Aideki Ikehata.

More than 216 underemployed graduates, mostly marine and nautical students, registered for employment-at the training ship. Actually, there would have been more had it not for the “transport strike.” But Rufus’s office here is still accepting applications.

Job applications were not just limited 10 marine and nautical students only. In fact, the training ship needs cooks and HRM graduates, too.

I was one of those invited to have tour with the training ship. A Russian cadet named “Victor” was my guide who gave me a detailed picture of the entire ship. I was amazed at the ships state-of-the art equipment.

Indeed, the training ship is a floating classroom with all the amenities of modern technology. It has audio visual rooms where students have access to internet and power point training. They have Plasma television sets in the c1assrooms for visual classes, too.

The I77-meter long vessel has a mini-hospital, a dispensary, smoking rooms, and cabins for deck officers and cadets. Students coming from all over the world will have “hands-on” training for six-months before they are hired (if fortunate).

The Spirit of the MOL is an international training ship of the Panamanian registry based in Japan. It is a 4,878 ton vessel with a compliment of some 200 crew coming from various countries.

The training ship is owned by the Mitsui OSK Lines, a group of companies that operate a fleet of 800 ships chartered world wide.

Company crew said they are expanding their number of vessels to 1,200 vessels in 2010. Thus, they need more seafarer to be trained and eventually given assignment in the shipping company.

One of Rufus important projects in Congress is to provide his constituents viable employment in order to raise their standard of living. Yes, the good congressman has earned the support of Vice Mayor Vicente “Dongkoy” Emano, (of Cagayan de Oro City in all his projects in the city’s 2nd District.

“He (Rufus) is an elective official who never discriminate

political affiliation when it comes to programs beneficial to our people. He always invites us every time he introduces a new project and we are always around to show our support,” Emano said during a public forum here.

Cris Diaz is a recipient of the Rotary Club of Metro, Cagayan de Oro:SO “Best Column Writer” award in 2000. E-mail: bussinessmanpage.cd@gmail.com

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