Abojeb mans ‘Best Quality Ship’ in Japan

The M/V Albany Pioneer, which is being manned by a full-Filipino crew provided by Aboitiz Jebsen (Abojeb), was recently named the Best Quality Ship 2008, a prestigious award given by the Japan Federation of Pilots’ Association. The formal awarding ceremonies were held last June 16 in Japan.

Abojeb has been manning the two-year-old woodchip-type vessel owned by Kyokuto Shipping of Tokyo, Japan since it was delivered in early 2007 with Cesar Licudine as Crewing Manager.   The vessel is under the technical management of PMT Ship Management (PMT) in Manila.  

In a notice sent to Abojeb, PMT President Capt.Fortunato Agustin congratulated Capt. Edmundo Erispe and his entire crew for an excellent performance leading to the award.  
 

The crew received a merit certificate and US $1000.

“We understand the cash is not much for the whole crew.  What really matters is the spirit of recognition.  We sincerely hope that in 2009, one of our other vessels will be a recipient of the prestigious awards,” Agustin added. 

Aboitiz Jebsen is a 26-year-old joint venture of the Aboitiz Group with the Jebsens Group of Norway.  It is an international provider of crewing, ship management and total transport solutions and services.  Jebsens Maritime, Inc. (JMI), its crewing arm, has a pool of 7,875 highly qualified seafarers and supplies crew to 351 vessels of varied types.  JMI is a recipient of several Awards of Excellence and Top Performer Awards from the Philippine Overseas Employment Agency (POEA).