Friday the 12th March was indeed a great day for a small school class from Almirante in Panama. They were welcomed onboard MV UBC Cartagena by the crew and was treated to a full tour of the vessel followed by lunch.

Organiser of this fun day was Mr. Ad Ligthart, Operations Manager at Changuinola Civil Works Joint Venture Inc. (CCWJV), the vessels' charterer.

On the day the crew decorated the vessel with flags and balloons and our Cook and Steward got busy with preparing lunch for the kids. At about 10.30pm seven schoolchildren, two teachers and Mr. Ligthart climbed onboard. We guided them inside the accommodation to show them the officers' mess, crew mess, the galley and Captains office and dayroom. Then we proceeded to the Bridge and Wheelhouse where we explained how the ship is moving and how we can steer the vessels since there are no roads to follow. We also gave them an idea of how a compass works and showed them sea charts. They had a look at the radar and ECDIS display of the port Almirante. We even let them don the lifejackets and explained the importance of lifeboats and liferafts. In the engine room it was so noisy due to the auxiliary generator running so the kids had to wear ear muffs and hard hats. While in the engine room we explained the mechanics how the engine starts and controls the speed just like in a car.







After the tour of the vessel it was time for lunch which both the crew and the children enjoyed very much! The children were so happy to have explored the vessel and wanted to stay much longer. This opportunity does not happen often and for them it was indeed a great experience. When they left the vessel, they had big smiles on their faces and took with them happy memories of their day spent on our nice cement vessel UBC Cartagena.

Capt. E. Paguntalan





&nbs