John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University unveils training ship

Maritime school unveils training ship
Gabriel Pabico Lalu - November 08, 2018 https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1051977/maritime-school-unveils-training-ship

A local maritime university has unveiled a training ship that it hopes would equip students with skills needed to pursue careers as seafarers.

In a ceremony on Thursday at the Port of Capinpin in Orion, Bataan, officials from the John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University (JBLFMU) and the JBL Maritime Vanguard Services Inc. showcased the M/V John B Lacson to the public.

The vessel was named after the distinguished captain who established a review center in his hometown in Iloilo, which later became the Iloilo Maritime Academy in 1948. The scholl eventually became the JBLFMU in 1970 under the leadership of Lacson’s youngest daughter, Dr. Mary Lou Lacson-Arcelo.

According to Arcelo, the President Emeritus of JBLFMU, the purchase of the training ship is a realization of the school’s aspirations, although she admitted that her father would have not imagined his “review center’s” achievements.

“You know, Captain Lacson is a seaman, and he was the founder of the school. Now, he never probably expected that his school would even be a university,” Arcelo told INQUIRER.net in an interview.

“I don’t think he even expected this, but we at John B. Lacson (university) who are living his legacy […] we know that if he were alive, he would be very proud of having this school as it is now,” she added.

She added that Lacson, a seafarer who lived at a time when masculinity and macho ideologies reign supreme in the industry, might not be able to hold back tears if he were alive today to see the training ship.

“He will be crying with joy. My father, he is a brave and very courageous man, he says he has salt in his blood, but he can very sentimental,” Arcelo noted.
Humble beginnings

Captain Vicente Fedelicio, Chair of JBL Maritime Vanguard Services and a JBLFMU alumnus, said he expects students to learn more by manning the ship themselves, amid an increasing demand for seafarers all over the world.

“During my time in the university, while taking BSMT [Bachelor of Science in Maritime Transportation], I would say that we were quite privileged to have a small training ship at the Iloilo Maritime Academy. With that we learned a lot,” Fedelicio told INQUIRER.net.