Captain Mikaele Naibe Labalaba, a seasoned mariner with over three decades of experience at sea, has traded the ship’s bridge for the classroom, dedicating his retirement to mentoring Fiji’s next generation of seafarers.
Now an assistant lecturer and instructor at the Pacific Centre for Maritime Studies, the Cakaudrove gentleman’s journey to captaincy was unexpected. He revealed that his childhood ambition was to become a doctor.
“After Form 6, my mum came in one afternoon and told me she had spoken to one of our cousins, a captain for Beachcomber Cruises,” Captain Labalaba recalled.
“He asked me if I wanted to work on a tourist boat.”
Taking a chance, he went to Lautoka wharf the next day.
From his first week, he was hooked. The work reconnected him with the white sandy beaches and sea reminiscent of his mother’s home island, Kabara, reviving his childhood love for swimming and fishing.
“From that day, I forgot all about becoming a doctor,” he said.
His career was not without challenges, but he embraced them as part of a continuous learning process.
For years, he believed becoming a captain was a hereditary role.
A pivotal moment came when his own captain urged him to attend maritime school.
“He said, ‘if you want to be a captain like me, you better go. This is the only chance for you’,” Captain Labalaba said.
“I didn’t know that anybody could be a captain, that it’s your choice.”
That advice set him on a path of steady qualification, from junior captain to a long and successful career at sea.
Now, having retired from active service, he has come full circle.
“I decided to come to the maritime school and teach,” he said.
“I want to give whatever I have experienced to my students.”
The values and lessons he espoused are proof of the everlasting fruits of having passion for even the most mundane tasks and most important of all, having discipline to ensure professional success.
Captain Mikaele Labalaba. Picture: ALIFERETI SAKIASI
