ABC Foundation former Scholar Wilbert Capitle is at sea right now, somewhere in the northern Pacific Ocean, sailing on the MV Sage Sagittarius from Kudamatsu, Japan to Newcastle, Australia where the ship will pick up a full cargo of coal to be delivered to Japan. The trip from Japan to Australia will take 14 days and their huge ship is in ‘ballast condition’ with the cargo space now filled with water to stabilize the ship and provide comfortable sailing. Wilbert is now a Junior Marine Engineer on the ship since he reported for duty Feb. 5 while the ship was docked in Kudamatsu, Japan, offloading coal. One of several assignments Wilbert immediately took on was being part of the engineering team that operates and maintains the (SUL) a sophisticated piece of engineering equipment that enables the ship to ‘self-unload’ the cargo they are carrying.
Wilberts ship, the Sage Sagittarius was built in the year 2000 and weighs in at 105,700 (DWT) dead weight tons and it carries an immense amount of coal. Later, from Australia we expect to learn how long it will take to fully load the ship with coal and turn around for the return trip to Kudamatsu, Japan. Wilbert’s looking forward to his first ‘liberty’ in Australia when he’ll be allowed to go off the ship.
In 2016 exports of coal out of Newcastle totalled 161 million tons, a new record, making it the most valuable export out of the State of New South Wales, Australia.
Wilbert was a Night High Scholar of A Better Chance Foundation at Siena College, Quezon City from 2006 to 2011. He was a member of the Bosch Class, as his entire class was sponsored by the Philippine Branch of the German Bosch Company, makers of power tools and after market automotive equipment. Wilbert then went on to become ABC’s College Scholar at the Maritime Academy of Asia and The Pacific, in Bataan Province, where he studied Marine Engineering. Again, he was a Bosch Scholar.
Congratulations Wilbert and our best wishes for blue skies and smooth sailing!