Senior pilot Herman King (second right), and his brother, senior pilot Bentley King (unavoidably absent), were honoured by the Port Authority of Jamaica (PAJ) and the shipping industry at a recent function held in their honour at the Morgan's Harbour Hotel & Marina. Also pictured are (from left): Captain Hopeton Delisser, PAJ's Vice-President and port services/harbour master; Grantley Stephenson, chairman and CEO of Kingston Wharves Ltd; Harry Maragh, President of the Shipping Association of Jamaica, and Roxy Fuller, senior marine pilot. - Contributed
SENIOR MARINE pilots Herman King and Bentley King were given a warm farewell on Friday, April 8 when the Port Authority of Jamaica and the entire shipping industry celebrated their careers while acknowledging their retirement at a function held at the Morgan's Harbour Hotel and Marina.
Herman and Bentley King are brothers who have given 45 and 40 years respectively to Jamaica's maritime industry, earning the respect of their peers and shipping lines worldwide. Their skill at piloting ships into and out of Jamaican ports have become legendary, and was the focus of many tributes delivered during the function.
Harry Maragh, president of the Shipping Association of Jamaica (SAJ), delivered the main address during which he noted: "... Even in the most adverse weather conditions, you could count on Herman and Bentley King to give us safe and smooth landing whether starboard, port or medmore docking."
The SAJ president said that the port of Kingston's achievement of being a premier trans-shipment centre "could not have been achieved without the contributions of the Port Authority of Jamaica and our honourees, Herman and Bentley King."
Bentley King was unavoidably absent from the function, but his brother, Herman, expressed thanks for being so honoured and accepted plaques and gifts that were presented to them.
