Author: Sarah Eustace

Not too long ago, Stella Maris Tees ship visitors Hugh and Mary Ward visited the ship Eco Invictus.
              They were welcomed by a Sri Lankan Master and Filipino crew.
              This was the first visit to Tees for the Master, who said he had never had Stella Maris visitors on his vessel so High and Mary took this opportunity to explain to him their role and how we could help the crew.
              At this point they were approached by a crew member who asked if we could get him to Mass so Hugh and Mary asked the Master if we could bring a Catholic priest on board to say Mass for the crew.
              He agreed without hesitation, then asked if a Buddhist Monk could be brought on board for him. It so happens that Billy Barnett, a member of our Tees ship visiting team is an ordained lay Buddhist. 
 
              So the next day, they went on board the ship again. In the presence of the Master and the crew, Billy performed a short ceremony for which the Master was very grateful.
              Later that same night Stella Maris Tees Port Chaplain, Deacon Peter Barrigan and Fr Jim Angus of St Patrick’s Hartlepool went on board. Mass was said in the presence of all of the crew including the Master. Everyone was very uplifted. 
              It turns out that although the Master is a Buddhist, his three children are educated in a Catholic school in Kandy.
              The Master and crew thanked Hugh and Mary for their visit. The Master gave them a box of foodstuff which they donated to the local foodbank.

We have so much to be grateful to seafarers who among other things help us keep warm in winter. Listen to our Immingham port chaplain Steve Willows in this beautiful sharing on BBC Humberside's Thought for the Day. Click this link to listen .

While most businesses and companies have started winding down operations in preparation for the Christmas holidays, global maritime charity Stella Maris (Apostleship of the Sea) will be busy supporting the many seafarers who face unseen difficulties this time of year. 
               The organisation’s port chaplains and ship visitors in Great Britain and around the world are working through Christmas to ensure that crew members, and particularly those going through crises, receive vital pastoral and practical support.
                In one recent case, Stella Maris stepped in to help the Kenyan crew of a vessel who lacked food and water and had received death threats from the ship’s owner. 
               The charity arranged with the local church for the crew to be visited and is working with colleagues to get the situation resolved. 
               “This will be a hugely stressful time for not only the crew but for their families back home too. Christmas can be a lonely time for many seafarers, without family around, but for those caught up in such awful circumstances, the effect upon their mental wellbeing is huge,” said Martin Foley, Stella Maris European Regional Coordinator.

Conditions on board the fishing vessel

               Last week, a Stella Maris chaplain in Southern Africa learnt about a fishing vessel that was arrested in port with six seafarers on board who are without sufficient food and water. They have also not been paid their wages for a few months now. 
               The local Stella Maris team intervened, providing emergency food and water supplies.
               One of the seafarers was shivering from the cold so the chaplain gave him his own warm jacket for which he was really grateful to have. Stella Maris continues to monitor the situation. 
               Martin said, “Sadly, situations like these are not unfamiliar with Stella Maris port chaplains and ship visitors, as the charity’s Life at Sea Report – the second edition of which will be published next year – has shown.” 
               He added, “The sight of a Stella Maris port chaplain or ship visitor going on board a ship is a welcome one for many seafarers, especially at this time of year when we ensure that seafarers are not forgotten and show our appreciation for the sacrifices they make throughout the year.”

Conditions on board the fishing vessel

Stella Maris (Apostleship of the Sea) has launched a brand new version of its global port chaplains’ directory which helps seafarers get quick access to pastoral and practical support wherever they are in the world. 
              The Stella Maris Port Chaplain Directory 2020 lists phone numbers and email addresses of the charity’s 230 chaplains in over 300 ports and terminals across 41 countries. 
              It also highlights the ports in which Stella Maris Seafarers’ Centres are located; these centres provide a space where seafarers can go to relax, contact family, socialise, and speak to a chaplain away from the environment of their ships.
              Stella Maris CEO Martin Foley said, “Stella Maris has the largest ship visiting network globally and our experience shows that face-to-face contact is unique and irreplaceable. This directory provides seafarers useful points of contact should they need urgent support and assistance.” 

              Stella Maris Development Director John Green said, “We have chaplains in most of the world’s ports. The Directory is a handy source of information for seafarers to get quick and easy access to assistance and advice. 
              “Providing up to date and accurate details enables our network of chaplains to provide holistic care for seafarers in port after port worldwide and is a valuable resource both for seafarers and stakeholders in the maritime industry such as P&I clubs, shipping agents and port officials,” he added. 
              The support offered by Stella Maris – which celebrates its Centenary this year – includes counselling and befriending, hospital visits, transporation to local shops and facilities and providing WiFi connection and phone cards. 
              The Directory was sponsored by Tindall Riley, Managers of The Britannia Steam Ship Insurance Association Limited.
              Copies of the Directory are being sent out to Stella Maris chaplains globally for distribution to seafarers and ships. The Directory can be downloaded by clicking here.   

We're in the middle of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and our Immingham Port Chaplain Steve Willows was invited to give a sharing on Pause for Thought on BBC Radio Humberside.
Steve says that the work he and our other port chaplains do to support and provide welfare for seafarers means a relationship is needed with many different organisations.
Stella Maris is there for seafarers of all faiths and none. It's only by working together and having the same mission are we able to help the seafarers we meet everyday.
You can listen to his sharing here.

Stella Maris (Apostleship of the Sea) kicked off what promises to be a momentous year as we celebrated our first Sea Sunday appeal of the New Year in St Patrick’s, Dumbarton, Scotland.
              Jim Timmoney, who is the parish contact there, spoke at all four Masses over the course of last weekend with parishioners taking the time to respond generously. 
             Stella Maris was founded on the banks of the River Clyde back in 1920, and will celebrate our centenary in Glasgow later this year when the World Congress will also come back to the city of our birth. 
             Euan McArthur, our Scotland Development Officer, said, “We would like to offer our sincere thanks to Canon Conroy for allowing us to hold the Sea Sunday appeal in St Patrick’s, and for all those parishioners who gave their generous support.” 

             AoS are due to return to the surrounding area when we hold Sea Sunday in St Kessog’s parish, Balloch in the middle of February.
             Jim said, “This is an area rich in maritime history and it’s great to be part of this exciting time for the charity.”
             Jim was assisted by another volunteer, Margaret King, who gave out Stella Maris prayer cards to parishioners, some of whom had a seafaring connection.
             Thank you Jim, Margaret, Canon Conroy and parishioners of St Patrick’s for your wonderful support.

* Interested in volunteering with us. Go here to find out more.

Stella Maris (Apostleship of the Sea) is providing support to six fishing vessel crew members while their ship is detained in Cape Town.
             The Yong Qing Fa No. 666 arrived in Cape Town on November 30 but was barred from entering the port and had to drop anchor while it waited to get the greenlight to dock.
             The ship was finally allowed to enter the port on December 13. Nicholas Barends, Stella Maris National Director based in Cape Town discovered that the six seafarers – four from Myanmar and two Taiwanese – had very little food and drinking water on board as the ship had run out of supplies while sailing from Senegal to Mauritius. 
             The vessel turned back and came into Cape Town where it was detained. It had also run out of fuel. 

             “I provided the crew with warm clothing as they were shivering. Stella Maris also arranged for emergency food supplies to be brought to them. The smiles on the men’s faces when they received these items spoke volumes,” Nicholas said. 
             “One diabetic seafarer had run out of medication. Luckily we managed to get a doctor on Christmas Day to draw up a prescription and ensure he got the tablets he needed,” Nicholas added. This has now been provided on two occasions to the seafarer. 
             Stella Maris has also been in contact with the Taiwanese consulate who brought food gift bags to the crew during the recent Chinese New Year celebration. 
             “Communicating with the Myanmar seafarers has been quite challenging as the Burmese language is not widely spoken but we have been using the internet and a contact in Myanmar to help out with translations,” Nicholas said. 

             “It is sad that the crew have found themselves in this situation but they are grateful for Stella Maris’ assistance and we will continue to support them until they are safely repatriated. It is all part of Stella Maris’ ministry of the Church in outreach to those on the margins,” he added.
             Stella Maris celebrates its Centenary this year. The charity will hold its 25th World Congress from September 29 to October 4 in Glasgow, Scotland where it was founded. (Go here for some details)

Global maritime charity has issued guidance for its GB port chaplains and ship visitors following the outbreak of the Coronavirus. The charity also deploys chaplains on cruise ships to support crew welfare.

Media have reported the detention of thousands of passengers and crew on the cruise ship, the Costa Smeralda, the fifth largest cruise ship in the world in the port of Civitavecchia, near Rome, following a suspected corona virus case.

The virus has also been affecting seafarers on other vessels with six seafarers on a container ship falling ill during a voyage from China to Egypt, 2 days ago, raising concerns they have been affected too. A seafarer who arrived in Singapore from Wuhan on 20 January while not showing any symptom during his flight has been quarantined in a hospital, having been diagnosed with the virus, according to media, the ship he was working on is at anchorage is required to be disinfected.

Stella Maris is the largest ship welfare organisation in the world, each year visiting over 70,000 ships. CEO Martin Foley said, ‘the global nature of shipping means that any infectious disease is a risk for seafarers as they travel, we continue to visit ships and support seafarers but are making sure our teams are aware of this latest outbreak.’ 

John Green Director of Development said, ‘As well as advice for our ship visitors we will also be issuing guidance to seafarers in our Stella Maris magazine, which is distributed globally’.

Stella Maris (Apostleship of the Sea) Felixstowe ship visitor and parish contact Julian Wong has been awarded a Papal Blessing in recognition of his work with the Catholic seafarers’ charity.
              Julian was presented with the certificate at a Mass for Stella Maris supporters held at the Seafarers Centre, Felixstowe Port on January 28. Mass was celebrated by Fr John Barnes in the chapel above the Centre. 
             “The Papal Blessing was totally unexpected and I felt very blessed and humbled when I was presented with it. Seafarers should be the ones to receive this for they do all the hard work. I share this Blessing with all my brothers and sisters in Christ, who spend long periods away from their loved ones,” he said. 

              Julian has been a Stella Maris ship visitor since November 2014 and last August reached a milestone in his ship visiting ministry, visiting his 1,000th ship, the Seucia Seaways. 
             “I find my visits extremely rewarding and consider myself very lucky to be able to stand next to the world’s largest container ships, board them and meet the crew on board. I listen to what the seafarers say, share their ups and downs, pray with them and for them and their families,” says Julian who also regularly distributes Communion to Catholic seafarers who request the Sacrament. 
             He added, “I am privileged to be part of Stella Maris, which this year celebrates its Centenary, having been founded in Glasgow 100 years ago. God bless all seafarers and their families!” he said.

A special message of thanks from our Director of Chaplaincy, Fr John Lavers.

To everyone who has and continues to support Stella Maris (Apostleship of the Sea), thank you for all of your kind donations of Christmas chocolates, toiletries as well as the many other gifts including woolly hats and warm clothing which was generously donated for the betterment of life for the seafarers this past Christmas.
             The People of Sea, who work so very hard and long hours far away from home truly appreciate and know the great kindness that comes from your hearts.
             When these items were delivered to the seafarers onboard ships the days before, during and after Christmas, the wide smiles of seafarers and their ‘thank you thank you’ reminds us of how we must never forget the sacrifice that the People of Sea make in bringing us over 90% of all the goods we enjoy in our daily lives. In giving to the seafarers we are reminded of how works of charity help us to grow in the spiritual life.
             Once again, thank you to everyone and to Fr Paul for supporting the Apostleship of the Sea. Our Lady Star of the Sea…pray for seafarers!