- MV Doulos: Sailing into the 21st centuryhursday, January 11 2007 @ 04:43 PM GMT
National
Despite the advances in transportation and globalization, there are many countries around the world where there simply are no means to obtain good literature.
MV Doulos docked at South Harbor, Pier 13, is the answer. The vessel is the world’s largest floating book fair and has been compared to a floating “United Nations.” It is also the world’s oldest ocean-going passenger ship built in 1914, two years younger than the ship Titanic.
But the ocean-going passenger ship is much more than that. It is about bringing knowledge, help and hope to the people of the world.
The Doulos is back in Manila after 2001. She was here January 5 until 22. Before coming here, she was in Bacolod City, December 20, 2006 to January 1, 2007; from Manila, she will be in Cebu from January 26-February 19 and Batangas, from February 22-March 5, 2007.
Reka Borsiczky, Media Relations Officer of MV Doulos, said over the past 28 years, the ship has visited more than 100 countries in Latin America, North America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Arabian Peninsula, and the Pacific and carries more than 6,000 titles (totaling over half a million books) which are for sale at affordable prices.
The books cover a wide range of subjects such as science, education, cookery, technology, dictionaries, sports and children’s books, music, among others.
Borsiczky said that the vessel has received over 18 million visitors and in many ports, thousands visit daily and willing to wait in line for many hours before coming on board.
She explained that before coming into a country, the ship sends a team to assess the needs of the community. This is communicated to the crew on board who can then plan accordingly.
Doulos has been registered in four countries – USA, Panama, Italy and Malta. The ship was originally built as a freighter named Medina, owned by the Mallory Steamship Company in the United States. She was launched on August 22, 1914 by Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company.
Her first assignment was to transport onions from New York to Galveston, Texas. It was also requisitioned as a US supply ship during the First World War.
After serving 30 years as a cargo ship, Medina was acquired by the Genativer group and registered in Panama as Roma. She was converted the following year in La Spezia, Italy, into a passenger ship with accommodations for 287 cabin passengers and 694 emigrants in dormitories.
Roma was laid up in Belfast, when her owners became bankrupt. In 1952, she was sold to the only bidder, Giacomo Costa fu Andre (Linea C). Her original steam engines were replaced by slow speed Fiat diesels. The ship could now produce 7,650 horsepower and sail at a speed of 18 knots.
For the succeeding years, she sailed on the company’s South American routes under the name Franca C. In 1959, the vessel became a class-one cruise ship with accommodation for 345 passengers. Changes were made to the gallery and restaurants. Added were a casino, swimming pool and cinema.
Seven years later, due to the emergence of newer cruise ships, Costa Lines decided to scrap the France C. The ship had now sailed for 63 years and was thought to be too old. However, during her final cruise, representatives from the German charity “Gute Bucher fur Alle (Good books for all) were on board and decided to purchase the vessel on November 4, 1997.
It was renamed to Doulos, a Greek word meaning “servant” and registered in the Mediterranean port of Valetta, Malta. This was the seventh time the ship has been rescued from the scrapyard.
Her crew of 320 people (all volunteers) represents more than 40 nationalities from all over the world. More than 10 people flew in from four continents to volunteer their services.
As time goes on, great effort is taken to maintain the ship and its good condition and to keep up with safety standards. In October 1998 a three-year project to install a sprinkler system comprising over 900 nozzles and more than five kilometers of piping was completed.
The owners and crew of Doulos are confident that the ship will be able to carry on with its much-appreciated service for many more years to come. (PNA)
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