No fish for Captain Oscar in Bougainville
By ROMULUS MASIU
AMONG the many people you will come across in life, there will be some that remain in your memory for quite some time.
Recently I met one such person, a very interesting character indeed by the name of Captain Aung Kyaw Oo (pronounced aung cho woo).
He comes from Myanmar’s (formerly known as Burma) Shan State city.
However his mates called him Captain Oscar which he wholeheartedly preferred.
I met Captain Oscar when he came to Buka in February this year to load copra on his ship MV Princess Chrisanta.
The short chubby soft-spoken Asian was the ‘man behind the wheels’ who captained the 9.5 metre long vessel that berthed at the Buka wharf.
MV Chrisanta is one of five Philippines-based vessels owned by the London Shipping Agent Corporation.
Captain Oscar has been a seaman for 25 years and has traveled around the world going to 46 countries in Europe, Asia, America, Africa and the Pacific.
He spent 10 years in the Pacific including PNG as captain of fishing vessels.
The 43-year-old is not new to Bougainville having worked along the region’s coastline as a seaman during the 1980s.
Part of his job at that time was to supply fuel, spare parts and provisions to the mother ships working along Bougainville’s coastline including transporting cocoa and copra out of one of the Southern Hemisphere’s biggest plantations, Numanuma.
“It’s good to be back in Bougainville,” Captain Oscar told me in his best English when I first met him in Buka town. He was fascinating and friendly.
Captain Oscar has a long colorful history having being trained at some of the best marine institutions around the world.
Prior to joining the London Shipping Agents Corporation, Captain Oscar worked for the Honolulu-based Pacific Marine company.
Having traveled in and out of some of the world’s smallest canals or passages, Captain Oscar was very impressed when he guided Princess Chrisanta into Buka wharf through the Buka Passage, measuring roughly 150m in width.
“Buka passage is very good for international ships. Though it’s narrow, it’s still good enough for me. Any overseas vessel can come in with less than 5,000 gross tonnages. Its safe operations,” the veteran port captain said.
When it comes to guiding big vessels into lagoons, canals or ports like Buka passage, Captain Oscar is an expert having wide experience as a port captain. He worked for three years as a port captain in the Philippines.
According to Captain Oscar, Buka can be easily made into an international port with the help of an experienced port pilot and port master.
“I can handle that, I am willing to come and work in Bougainville as both a pilot and port master. Only if ABG advertise I can apply and train locals,” he said.
Captain Oscar could be easily slotted into the ‘jack of all trades’ category.
Apart from the several marine university qualifications, Captain Oscar is also a graduate in the field of civil engineering.
“I can operate any machine and also build houses, roads and even bridges.”
In his brief stay in Buka, Captain Oscar paid a courtesy call to Bougainville’s President Joseph Kabui.
“My country is controlled by a military government which is not good. Communism is not good. There is no choice for freedom. Though my country is very rich, the government is not good,” Captain Oscar told President Kabui adding that with no democracy he has not visited his country for a long time now.
Captain Oscar told President Kabui that ABG has to improve its transportation services, especially sea transport to be able to export overseas and build up its ‘fragile’ economy.
“Economy of your government depends on the availability of a good and vibrant sea transport services for export and import. This is a good way to improve and boost the region’s economy. Without any good transportation there would be no import or export. Shipping is the only means to get cheaper goods/products from the Asian market while at the same time transporting copra out.”
Captain Oscar had this to say about PNG and Bougainville; “Your country is naturally rich. You have everything, forest, sea, fresh water and still maintaining your nationality through your vibrant customs. But one thing is you must learn to grow economically, you need to provide more training for your young population who are doing nothing in villages.”
Before his departure, Captain Oscar took me and colleague Augustine Kinna on a tour of his vessel MV Princess Chrisanta.
As we headed for the wheelhouse, he gave us a puzzled look and in his best English asked, “How on earth I didn’t find any fish on menu in every restaurant in Buka town. I can’t believe it especially when you’re surrounded by sea. Remember, I told you I was a qualified chef and my favourite dish is sea food.”
Don’t worry. Captain Aung Kyaw Oo, you will certainly have fish when you next return to Buka, just bring us more brandy and Fortune cigarettes!
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