Capt. Benjamin Privado
Master Mariner
BS Marine Transportation, 1995
When I was a kid, I dreamt of becoming a seafarer someday and that childhood dream turned into reality when I enrolled at LPU Batangas. I can still recall the memories that the best instructors gave me, a strong foundation of maritime education and tirelessly pushing us to the limits to become globally competitive seafarers. As an academic scholar, I used to live a life destined to finish my degree. I believed that determination is one form of anger, an anger that I used to withstand all the challenges in life and motivated me to attain my goals and aspirations. I completed the degree of Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation in 1995 with academic awards. We were taught to become disciplined, to become a leader in our own way, to become adaptive and flexible to our future work environment, and to excel in order to survive.
After my three years of academic completion, I have sown the fruits of my labor. I boarded my first vessel in Sanko Line, a Japanese-owned vessel where I started as a cadet. There were many hardships that I had encountered but these did not stop me or slowed me down. With the knowledge, skills, and discipline that I gained from LPU Batangas, I was promoted to the next higher rank before my contract expired.
Through the years I worked with different shipping companies like 2GO and Hartman Group of Companies onboard different types of vessels such as Log/Bulk, OBO, Oil Tanker, Oil/Chem, Passenger, and General Cargo Ship. With my strong determination and solid foundation of education, I became a deck officer and became a Master at the age of 28. After 22 years of spending life at sea, I am now a Harbor Master working with Batangas Harbor Pilots Co.
With the holistic education and training that the Lyceum of the Philippines University Batangas has been providing all these years, I am confident that we can produce more maritime officers and engineers that will serve and constitute the thirty percent of the world fleet comprising of world-class Filipino seafarers. As we celebrate the day of the Seafarer this June 25 let me give a snappy salute to LPU-Batangas and a snappy salute to all Batangueño and Lycean seafarers! #ButiNaLangNagLyceumAko