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Did you know? This Filipino marine engineer’s team masterplaned one of UAE’s naval combat boats

A young Filipino naval architect and marine engineer is already making waves here in the UAE as his wealth of knowledge and innovative ideas led his team to design one of the country’s combat boats in just a span of seven months!
2019 The Filipino Times Awards Engineer of the Year Darwin Neil Morano and his team built a 16m Combat Boat with him as the Lead Design Engineer / Project In-Charge way back in 2017 where his eye for design was lauded in an international stage when it was presented during the global forum of the Abu Dhabi’s International Defense Exhibition.

Incorporating creativity

Morano admits that while his work delves on the technical nitty gritty side, that doesn’t mean that he maintains and does everything by the book. “Though it is too technical, i find it enjoyable especially that I get to be creative and innovative. I am one of the few Filipino Naval Engineers whose involved in the design and construction of naval surface marine vehicles for patrol and combat,” said Morano.

receiving award for community service by rotary club jumeirah
Morano receives an award for community service from the Rotary Club Jumeirah

After graduating as a Magna Cum Laude with a degree of BSc Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from the University of Cebu in 2012 and passing the board exam, he moved to the UAE to continue his master studies in 2015.

Together with his team, he managed to build their first military boat project that achieved far greater results than they had hoped for: “For me my greatest and most important achievement was to see my work being put to test and achieved more than what it was expected. A great example was my first project military boat project- a 16 meter combat boat prototype which was completed in just seven months and achieved a 50 knots speed from our expectation of 45 knots. The boat was a superstar during the sea trial presentation at the Naval Defense Exhibition in Abu Dhabi.”

the maritme league philippines 1
Former Philippine President Fidel Ramos together with The Maritime League Philippines

Embrace change

The 28-year-old engineer did not let his youth hinder him from performing at his best together with his senior co-workers, but instead he chose to face his challenges head on, embodying an unyielding spirt that continues to learn as years go by.

“As a young professional, with just over 6 years’ experience I could not have asked for a better start to what I hope will be a long and fruitful career. My advice to fellow Filipinos and to those who wish to pursue a career in Engineering is not to be afraid – to embrace change. While change can be scary, challenging the status quo grows you as a person, and broadens your experiences,” shares Morano.

philippine navy delegation visit to my project during the defense exhibition in abu dhabi
Philippine Navy delegation visits Morano’s project during the Defense Exhibition in Abu Dhabi

He hopes that fellow engineers and aspiring young students in the same field will find fulfillment not just in the work that they produce, but more importantly, inspire people whose lives they improve through the multitudes of products that they now use and benefit from: “Six years working in the UAE, I got a better understanding of engineers’ significance in society, and I also started appreciating engineering as a creative and altruistic profession. We, engineers make a real difference to the world by improving so many things that we all depend on and benefit from in our day-to-day lives. A career in engineering can be both meaningful and fulfilling.”

Staff Report

The Filipino Times is the chronicler of stories for, of and by Filipinos all over the world, reaching more than 236 countries in readership. Any interesting story to share? Email us at [email protected]

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