In 1981, Ngoc Nguyen was 13, one of the at least 800,000 of the so-called Vietnamese “boat people” who fled Vietnam by boat after the end of the war. He was crammed in an overcrowded boat with his family, among 65 other refugees adrift in the South China Sea, when they were picked up by the Arnold Maersk. Now 34 years later, took to the bridge of the container ship, Thomas Maersk, as its captain.

From Maersk.com: Nguyen remembers his family’s escape in 1981 as if it were yesterday: “Two days had passed since the patrol boat had chased us away from the shores of Vietnam. With only a compass, a dwindling supply of gas and no food or water, our chances of reaching land safely were looking bleak.”

Then the saw the approaching ship. “Stepping onto Arnold Maersk’s lowered gangway, the 13-year-old Nguyen caught a glimpse of Captain Jørgen Orla Hansen. It was then that he decided: 

“One day I will become a captain on a ship like this so that I can do what the captain on board did.” To this day, Nguyen refers to that moment as the “happiest moment of my life.”

After spending six months in a former army camp in Hong Kong, the Danish government granted them asylum since it was a Danish vessel that had rescued them. Arriving in Denmark on a cold September day, the government ensured they had clothes and food and were taught to speak Danish.

“We were so lucky to have the opportunity to stay in Denmark. The people were very kind and helpful. We got an education, we got jobs, then we got married and had children,” Ngoc said.”

As time passed, Nguyen stayed true to the vision he had of himself as a boy. In 1989, he joined Maersk Line as a cadet.

He left for two years to serve as a lieutenant in the Royal Danish Navy, but returned in 1997 and worked his way up to become chief officer in 2001.

Now 47 and a captain, Nguyen believes that he has had the best of both worlds by being able to draw on the best that each culture has to offer….

Having lived such an unusual and rich life, Nguyen offers this advice:

 “Never give up. We have to fight for the things we want, and, in the end, maybe we will have a little bit of luck. In my case, my luck began on the day I met Arnold Maersk and went on to begin a new life.”