MOL Presents Long Service Awards to Filipino Seafarers, Hosts Gathering for Filipino Seafarers’ Family, Donates P600,000 to international NGO in the Philippines

TOKYO — Mitsui O.S.K Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President: Koichi Muto) today announced that the company held a commendation ceremony for long-serving Filipino seafarers at the MOL Group seafarer manning company Magsaysay MOL Marine, Inc.(*1) (MMM) in Manila on November 18, and hosted a gathering for seafarers’ families the following day.

Commendations went to seafarers with 20 years of service aboard MOL-operated vessels. Thirty-seven of the 42 recipients were on hand for the ceremony. MOL President Muto cited their long service with MOL and urged a renewed focus on their efforts to ensure safe operations.

The seafarer family gathering the next day drew over 3,500 people, mainly seafarers, their families, and others involved with the company. President Muto expressed his gratitude for the families’ understanding and support of MOL seafarers and said Filipino mariners will play an increasingly important role in the company’s future growth and success. MOL will continue to hold such gatherings in other cities in the Philippines and other major seafarer source nations to create stronger ties between MOL and seafarers’ families who wait patiently while their family members are out at sea.

In addition, in conjunction with the long-service commendation ceremonies on November 18, MOL invited Ricardo Nicanor N. Jacinto, managing director/CEO of the international NGO Habitat for Humanity Philippines(*2), to accept a donation of P600,000 (about 1.1 million) from MOL. Director/CEO Jacinto expressed his thanks, adding, “We are engaged in activities to support people afflicted by disasters like previous typhoons in the Philippines, as well as those who live in poverty, so MOL’s donation will be a great help for those people.” He then presented MOL President Muto with a commemorative plaque.

The donation will be used in the construction cost of a daycare center (a multipurpose facility that will provide education for pre-school children, health checkups and meals for underprivileged people, and so on). MOL Filipino seafarers, their families, and MMM land-based staff will volunteer to help with the construction work.

(*1) Magsaysay MOL Marine, Inc. is an MOL seafarer manning company in Manila. It was jointly established by MOL and its partner in the Philippines, Magsaysay Maritime Corporation, in March 1997. (*2) Habitat for Humanity Philippines is an NGO that supports self-reliance by constructing houses in impoverished nations and disaster-stricken areas. It was founded in 1976 in the United States, and its Philippine affiliate was established in 1988. It is intended to foster dignity, a sense of common bonds with families and fellows, and the emotional attachment to their local areas, and build peaceful communities by constructing their own houses with volunteers and local people. Until now, they have constructed about 350,000 homes, schools, and community centers in 100 nations around the world.