Lum Chung Fatt, Captain of OOCL Beijing

I started my sea-going career in February of 1983.  As part of the training necessary to acquire the experience, competence and certifications required to work onboard foreign-going ships, I served onboard various types of cargo ship during my cadetship, and in the process attended the Singapore Polytechnic and Sydney Technical College respectively.

Serving onboard OOCL ships since 1990, I have worked through the ranks on various classes of container ship in the fleet. In August 1996, I took command of my first ship, OOCL ASSURANCE.

To date, I have taken delivery of OOCL SHENZHEN (April 29, 2003), OOCL TOKYO (January 8, 2007), OOCL LUXEMBOURG (April 30, 2010) and most recently, OOCL BEIJING (April 29, 2011).

Delivering these new builds is a good and valuable experience for me.  It gives me the opportunity to work onboard modern container ships of the latest design.  Fitted with the latest equipment and good amenities, life onboard these ships has improved greatly for the crew.

Conditions onboard aside, ever present and often changing external factors such as weather and piracy in certain parts of the world continue to challenge a Captain’s effort to ensure the safety of crew, ship and cargo.

My sea-going career has so far brought me to many places all over the world and satisfies my passion for travel.

My favorite cities are San Francisco, Tokyo, Paris, Shanghai, Hong Kong and of course my home port, Singapore.  When I am on onshore leave in these cities, two of my favorite activities are to check out local food and browse in local book stores.