Yesterday we took you onboard the Carnival Dream cruise ship, the first event for Day of the Seafarer. And today, Belize's Seafarers, including the Coast Guard, the Belize Port Authority, and Immarbe, held a Maritime Expo and Job Fair, where the public was invited to learn more about life at sea - and maybe even get a chance to join the different crews.
And as a country bordered by the sea, it is those same seafarers that, not only keep us safe, but ensure that the shelves in grocery stores and pharmacies are stocked, and keep money in the pockets of tourism stakeholders.
Courtney Menzies visited both events in observance of Day of the Seafarer and has this story.
Whether you're guarding the seas against criminals, or serving tourists on cruise ships, or protecting Belize's marine reserves, you're a seafarer - and June 25th is your day.
Day of the Seafarer recognizes the services of those who chose to leave dry land behind and work at sea - or even those who ensure the checks and balances for those who go out to sea day after day.
And the activities in Belize kicked off with a tour on the cruise ships that are normally seen in our harbor. Yesterday, our news team went aboard the Carnival Dream cruise ship, where we spoke to one of the seafarers, the captain, who said he started his post at the beginning of the pandemic.
Francesco Fiorentino - Captain, Carnival Dream
"I got promoted actually when the pandemic started so March 2020, I sat down on the ship and operation stopped. And now, two and a half years I am the captain of this ship, two and a half years. We have a lot of things here, a lot of activities, I think the best thing that young guests like, pool area and plus here for other guests, they love the shows, and especially in this place we are now they are comedy shows that are very famous in Carnival. We are famous for the fun so we have really fun activities, the way the crew treats our guests is very nice, they're very close with our guests, it's like a big family, and our guests recognize also that from our crew members. And it's very good food. It's nice because you can see different places, our guests have a chance in a few days to see different countries, to meet different communities, and I believe they got some memory they will bring with them for their entire life."
And that was only part one of the activities; part two was a maritime job expo that served two purposes. The first was to give the public an idea of what a seafarer's job is like and the importance of the maritime industry.
Major (Ret'd) Gilbert Swaso - Ports Commissioner
"The Day of the Seafarers is an opportunity which we utilize to sort of bring public attention to the work that the seafarers do. The seafarers are an integral part of the shipping industry whose work and profession certainly bring cargo, food, medicine, important life saving equipment and to ensure the better way of life for the citizens across the world so I think that their contribution cannot be underestimated which it often happens when they're not being recognized as they should."
The Belize Coast Guard is one such maritime organization, and Rear Admiral Elton Bennett explained what their booth was about.
Rear Admiral Elton Bennett - Commandant, Belize Coast Guard
"Here in Belize, the different maritime agencies decided to do an open day where we can invite the public to visit the different stands and to get a better appreciation of what these different agencies bring in terms of service to nation. What we're doing here today is focusing our demonstration on maritime safety, which is protecting people at sea, and maritime security, protecting those people at sea from threats that originate at sea. So it's really demonstrating our different capabilities in terms of providing those services, how we go about conducting those operations."
The second objective of the expo was aimed at the younger working population, who may be interested in going down a different employment route and choose a life out at sea.
And as the CEO in the Ministry of Public Utilities, Energy, and Logistics explained, there are a lot of jobs that need to be filled - especially after the pandemic.
Jose Urbina - CEO, Ministry of Public Utilities, Energy, and Logistics
"A vacuum was created, and while a vacuum was created there is also a shortfall in Belizeans working on these ships and as we all saw yesterday, we have the demand in cruise ships, we have the demand in bulk ships and we also have the demand locally in terms of the jobs being create locally. It is important for us to establish the foundation, one, we align the Belize Port Authority in terms of what our government wants, to create opportunities, to create jobs but this sector is high in demand in terms of man power, unskilled and skilled. A compromise that has been made with one of the cruise lines is to really hire 200 unskilled persons to go on these ships as a requirement so this would assist our young people in 1, creating opportunities and 2, them getting an opportunity to see what is out there at sea and also to create a life. They would then decide if they want to continue that task."
And the highlight of the expo was a raffle for a job at the Belize Port Authority as well as the distribution of two scholarships to the Caribbean Maritime University in Jamaica in an effort to start expanding the maritime work force.
