Singapore :: Doulos Hope opens to the public for the first time.
Less than 12 months since joining our fleet, Doulos Hope has officially been declared open to the public! The opening ceremony took place on board the vessel on Sunday 7 May in Singapore at 1pm local time. The occasion also marked the opening of GBA Ships’ fifth floating bookfair, a feature of all GBA vessels, for which the organisation is known world-over.
Among other distinguished guests, the guest of honour for the official opening was Dr. Goh Wei-Leong (Singapore). He cut the ceremonial ribbon alongside guest of honour Pak Randy (Indonesia), Doulos Hope’s Managing Director, Pil-Hun Park (Korea) and master of the vessel, Captain James Berry (UK) to signify the bookfair’s first official port opening.
Named as ‘Singaporean of the Year’ in 2017, in recognition of his contribution to the migrant community in Singapore, Dr. Goh is a well-known family physician, with a special interest and passion for under-served communities in Southeast Asia.
During the official opening ceremony, he said, “It is such a privilege for me to be here, welcoming this Ship to Singapore… My dream for the ship is that it will be a beacon, shedding light on the many intermingled issues that bind this region together in joys and sorrows alike; and also that it will be an agent of hope and change, bringing transformation…”
“The ships have always been known for their focus on sharing three core principles: knowledge, help and hope. And so here in Singapore we thank you – for coming to us as a servant to help this community, to bring us knowledge of the wide world and its many peoples and to bring hope to Southeast Asia as a whole.”
With a selection of over 2,000 titles on offer to visitors in Doulos Hope’s bookfair, there is something to capture the interest of the whole family. And Singaporeans have been eager to book their tickets and be some of the first visitors to board the ship!
Managing Director Park said, “It is very exciting to see Doulos Hope now open to the public and we look forward to welcoming all the visitors who will come on board in this port and in the future ports we will visit with this ship. We want to share knowledge, help and hope with a spirit of generosity and hospitality, in collaboration with the countries in Asia that we hope to visit. We look forward to many partnerships here and I am excited to see how Doulos Hope will be used in the future.”
Bookfair team member, Noah (Canada) said, “I am happy to see the ship in operation, with Singapore as our first port of call… [and I] want to thank all those who choose to come and visit our vessel as they are the reason why we do what we do.”
The ship is open to the public in Singapore from 7 – 21 May, every Tuesday-Sunday, from 1 – 9 pm.
Tickets are free and are available by pre-booking only. Please visit: tinyurl.com/visitdouloshope to book.
Port Location: VivoCity, 1 HarbourFront Walk, Singapore 098585.