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Pacific Eden Captain and Senior Officers to Help Commemorate Anzac Tradition in Fremantle’s Anzac Day Parade

P&OCruises' Pacific Eden Captain Gavin Pears and the ship's senior officers willparticipate in Fremantle's Anzac Day Parade as they join the local community incommemorating the Anzac tradition of service and sacrifice.

PacificEden will be in port in Fremantle on Anzac Day and many arriving passengerswill have already taken part in a poignant Dawn Service on board.

CaptainPears thanked the City of Fremantle and the Fremantle RSL Sub Branch forinviting the Pacific Eden contingent to be part of the commemoration inFremantle where the ship is currently homeported for a three-month season.

"Participationin the Anzac Day commemoration is an opportunity to remember in particular theservice of members of the merchant navy, many of whom made the ultimatesacrifice in keeping shipping routes open at a time of great peril at sea,"Captain Pears said.

AnzacDay will be marked on all five ships in the P&O Cruises' fleet with a DawnService to be held on each ship including the sounding of the Last Post, thetraditional observance of a minute's silence and the casting of a wreath ofremembrance on the sea.

OnAnzac Day:

·Pacific Dawn will be at Pentecost Island inVanuatu

·Pacific Jewel will be at sea returning toSydney from Moreton Island

·Pacific Pearl will be at sea returning to hercurrent Auckland homeport

·Pacific Eden will be on turnaround inFremantle

·Pacific Aria will be at sea off the New SouthWales coast

Duringthe day, activities on all five P&O ships will have a distinctive Australianand New Zealand theme with Anzac biscuits baked onboard, Anzac themed cakedisplays at the entrance to the main Waterfront dining rooms and specialshowing of movies, Gallipoli and the Water Diviner.

P&O'sheritage includes a strong wartime contribution, with the ships of its sisterline P&O Cruises in the UK called up for service in both World Wars. Mostrecently, the former liner Canberra famously served as a troopship in theFalkland Islands conflict in 1982.

Adecade after Canberra's Falklands service, Captain Pears joined the ship as ajunior deck officer and some crew members who had sailed into the war zone werestill serving on board. "As a child I had watched Canberra's return from theFalklands and 10 years later I was on the board the ship. It was amazing,"Captain Pears said.

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