Montego Bay — About half a million books will be available for sale as of March 23 at the Montego Bay Freeport’s cruise ship terminal as the MV Logos II, a floating book store, makes its third visit to the island.

The 4,804-tonne vessel is a former passenger car ferry that has been refitted and made seaworthy and it is now the second largest floating bookstore in the world. It is manned by an all-volunteer international crew of 200, from over 40 different nations.

The Logos II will be in Montego Bay until April 3, then it will move on to the Rockfort Cement Company in Kingston from April 6 to 28. Its opening hours are from 10:00 am to 10:00 pm Mondays to Saturdays, and from 2:00 pm to 10:00 pm on Sundays.

The books, which will all be sold at heavily discounted prices, will cover topics including science, technology, sports, hobbies, cookery, the arts, marketing and philosophy. There will also be a large selection of children’s books, Christian books, dictionaries, encyclopedias, novels and classics.

Logos’ visit to the island is a part of operation mobilisation, an international mission with 3,000 people working in more than 80 different countries. Their objective is to help contribute to the wellbeing of the countries they visit by sharing their diverse cultures and providing access to good literature for all sectors of society.

Once a year, while in a port of call, the Logos’ crew and staff provide long-term humanitarian relief in areas of great need or tragedy. For example, in 1998, working with the Red Cross, they helped in the rebuilding of the Caribbean island of St Kitts in the aftermath of Hurricane George. Then again in 2000, while on a visit to Liberia, the group provided aid to the suffering and needy in orphanages and hospitals in that country following seven years of civil war.

During their five-week stay in Jamaica, the group will take its outreach programme, which includes cultural presentations, into hospitals, orphanages and prisons in Montego Bay and Kingston.

The Logos II, along with the MV Doulos, are owned and operated by the Educational Book Exhibit, a non-profit charity organisation registered in the United Kingdom. The EBE seeks to promote education and international understanding though its floating book fair and cultural exchange programmes and it has operated the Logos II since 1989.

Over the past 12 years, the ship has visited more than 75 countries in Latin America, central and North America, Africa and Europe.