Fighting poverty through seafaring

Fighting poverty through seafaring
Yashika F. Torib December 7, 2022 https://www.manilatimes.net/2022/12/07/business/maritime/fighting-povert...

EFFREY Acuesta spent years of his childhood working long hours in a fast-food restaurant, cleaning his uncle's car and skipping meals to make enough money for a school where he studied on an empty stomach.

Fourth in a brood of five children, Acuesta was reared in a hard life. By the time he was supposed to enter college, he was told that family finances were already exhausted.

"Adversity pushed me to become a seafarer," Acuesta shared, a reality that moved a great number of Filipinos to enter the same profession.

Little did he know that the shipping industry would become more than just a ticket out of poverty.

The young man trudged on until he finished a marine engineering course at the Philippine Maritime Institute (PMI) in Quezon City and thereafter sailed aboard interisland ships. A few months later, he used his savings to study marine transportation at Feati University.

Jeff, as his friends call him, was used to a difficult life and hard labor, thus, on his first international ocean voyage in 1993, an era of seafaring when cadets were commonly known as "the lowest mammals at sea," the young man thrived and made some of his best memories at sea.

"In our time, it was not easy to climb to the top. It took me 14 years to take my first command and become a ship captain," Acuesta said.

Life gradually eased for Acuesta and his family. The years of repetitive drudgery and hunger seemed like a lifetime ago as he reaped the fruits of his labor and eventually moved to Hong Kong.

"Pacific Basin (PB) Shipping Ltd., the company where I became a ship captain in 2008, offered me to work as a marine and safety manager in their Hong Kong office," Acuesta recalled.

The next few years saw steady promotions for Acuesta. In his 12th year of living and working in Hong Kong, he was called to fly back to the Philippines to lead PB's manning offices in the country.

Such a move proved nostalgic for Acuesta. The young boy who used to dream of sailing the high seas to escape poverty is now an accomplished man who grants opportunities to others who share the same dream.

"As the new fleet personnel manager, we recruited cadets from schools, one of which is PMI, my alma mater. I decided to invite their parents to our office and introduce them to people who their children would be working with. And then, the parents started sharing their stories," Acuesta recalled.

The moving tales of raising children amid poverty and the near hopelessness of providing them with education sounded all too familiar for Acuesta.

"It was very touching to hear. The fulfillment in fueling the hopes of these families for a better future is incomparable," he reflected.

The importance he placed on families is reflected in the way PB Maritime handles its people, an approach that further solidified the company's bond with its crew and their loved ones.

"The greatest lesson that the sea taught me is understanding how important families really are. Being away from them for so long made me realize how challenging this industry is. Today, I am just so grateful for spending precious time with them, most especially being present in my daughter's life as she grows up," Acuesta said, adding that quality time with his family is a priority.

Acuesta is known in the industry as a health-conscious maritime executive. He was influenced by his mentor and predecessor, Capt. Jay K. Pillai inspired him to hike and run during his stay in Hong Kong.

"I live a health-conscious life by exercising regularly. I enjoy running, going on trail hikes and scuba diving. Captain Pillai was my teammate in Hong Kong, participating in the Oxfam 100-km trail walk which is an annual charity event in the said country. He made me more than what I could be," he concluded.