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Ship visiting resumes in Ukraine

Global maritime charity Stella Maris is pleased to announce that it has resumed regular ship visits in the port of Odesa in war-torn Ukraine, after almost a year of not being able to do so due to security and safety concerns.

On Tuesday, 24th January, the charity’s port chaplain Fr Alexander Smerechynskyy, and assistant chaplain Rostyslav Inzhestoikov, were granted special permission to go on board ships. With a military escort at all times, they were able to pay very welcome visits to seafarers who have been alone on their vessels in Odesa for many long months.

“Rostik and I are delighted that Stella Maris has been granted permission to visit ships once again in the port of Odesa,” said Fr Alexander.

Stella Maris is physically present and actively working in Ukraine to support seafarers and their families.

Fr Alex and Rostik preparing to ship visit in Odesa port on 24th January

During the months that they were not allowed to visit ships, Fr Alex and Rostik have been supporting seafarers in many other ways, including ensuring the delivery of food parcels to seafarers trapped on ships in the Black Sea. They have been providing spiritual and pastoral support remotely to Ukrainian seafarers on ships around the world through messages broadcast via social media.

Through Stella Maris’ Centenary Emergency Fund, Fr Alex and Rostik have also been providing tens of thousands of pounds in urgent life-saving grants to hundreds of Ukrainian seafarers and their families in need of immediate assistance as a result of the war.

They also ran a soup kitchen to help families of seafarers in Odesa and helped organise safe places of refuge for Ukrainian seafarers finishing contracts overseas and their families fleeing the country.

Late last year Stella Maris launched a psychological support service for seafarers and their families in Ukraine. The programme provides medium to long-term support from professional psychologists in Ukraine, and delivers remote, ongoing psychological support for those most in need.

Stella Maris is the world’s largest ship-visiting network. The importance of a personal visit from the charity’s chaplains and volunteers, and the impact of the human touch on seafarers’ mental health and wellbeing cannot be over-estimated.

Seafarers, especially those working in conditions of heightened anxiety and stress, appreciate seeing a friendly face, ready to offer support and a listening ear. It reminds seafarers that they are not forgotten amid the horrors of the war.

Stella Maris Chief Executive Officer to step down

After almost 13 years’ service with Stella Maris, Martin Foley has informed the Trustees that he will be resigning his position to take up the role of Chief Executive Officer with the Arise Foundation, an anti-slavery NGO.  His precise date of departure has yet to be confirmed but is likely to be towards the end of March 2023. Martin will continue serving as Stella Maris CEO until then. 

Esteban Pacha, Chair of Trustees, said; “On behalf of the Trustees, I would like to express my thanks to Martin for his service to Stella Maris. As the leading provider of welfare support for seafarers, fishers, and their families, Stella Maris is in a better place now than it was 13 years ago. That is due to Martin’s dedication and hard work in collaboration with all our volunteers, chaplains, staff, trustees, and supporters. His wonderful efforts for seafarers, fishers and their families have produced tremendous fruit, both here in the UK and overseas through the global Stella Maris network.” 

Martin Foley said: “Stella Maris is an outstanding charity. It has been a privilege to serve Stella Maris as Chief Executive Officer, alongside our superb volunteers, chaplains, staff, and trustees. We have achieved a great deal together and I give thanks to God for the part he has enabled me to play in this.  

“As both Stella Maris and the Arise Foundation are involved in the fight against slavery and human trafficking, in my new role with the Arise Foundation I hope to continue to collaborate with Stella Maris, here in the UK and overseas, to eradicate slavery in the maritime sector.”

The recruitment process for Martin’s successor is underway.  Further details will be announced shortly via our website and social media channels

World Fisheries Day 2022

World Fisheries Day falls on 21 November. Stella Maris supports fishers and their families in the UK and around the world, and is often the first responder in cases, where fishers have become victims of modern slavery. We are committed to fighting trafficking in the fishing industry and are also calling for the immediate end to the practice of using transit visa to bring migrants into the UK to work on fishing vessels.

The Vatican has issued a message for World Fisheries Day, which you can read below.

World Fisheries Day 21 November 2022 Message from the Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development

World Fisheries Day is celebrated every 21st of November and represents an opportunity to acknowledge, on the one hand, the enormous and sometimes underappreciated food source for millions of humans which is the sea and, on the other hand, the role, the professions and the frequent hardships of all those involved in fishing and aquaculture.

In 2016, The FAO Committee on Fishing (COFI) endorsed a proposal for the Declaration of the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture, with the intent to increase awareness among governments and society at large of these sub-sectors and on the need to sustain their development through specific policies and legislations which allow them to develop and create adopting sustainable fishing practices. In 2017, the 72nd Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed 2022 as the International Year of Artisanal Fisheries and Aquaculture (IYAFA 2022), and it is in this context that we are celebrating, World Fisheries Day today.

According to FAO, in 2020 an estimated 58.5 million people were engaged (on a full-time, part-time, or occasional basis) in the primary sector of capture fisheries and aquaculture, providing the main source of income and livelihood for a substantial part of the population worldwide. Of all those engaged in primary production, the majority are in developing countries and most are small-scale, artisanal fishers and aquaculture workers. The highest numbers of workers are in Asia (85 percent), followed by Africa (9 percent), the Americas (4 percent), and Europe and Oceania (1 percent each).

A stock photo of fishermen on their vessel.

Being the most important single source of high-quality protein, fish is a vital source of food for millions of people. Small-scale artisanal fisheries, and aquaculture produce 40% of the worldwide fisheries catch, thus greatly contributing to food security, nutrition, and health.

However, despite playing a crucial role for the well-being and the development of many communities around the world, the sector is plagued by several endemic problems that are threatening the development and the meaningful life of the fishing communities and, sometimes, the existence of the fisheries.

Several of these threats, such climate change, loss of biodiversity and ocean acidification, are global issues affecting every country and every ocean. “The socio-ecological crisis that we are living is a propitious moment for individual and collective conversion and for concrete decisions that can no longer be postponed.” Therefore, international cooperation in the light of “fairness, justice and equity” (Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Address to the 27th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC, Sharm el-Sheikh, 8 November 2022) and of subsidiarity is essential to reduce the impact of these phenomena on our societies and to care for the oceans and their natural resources as a “common heritage of mankind”. Such an international cooperation can even help in addressing localized and often traceable problems
such as human rights infringements, poor and unsafe working conditions incompatible with
human dignity, sea and river pollution (indeed, many fishing communities rely on a given
river or lake as a source of proteins, but pollution threatens even freshwater), destruction of
coastal areas (including for new urban development), destructive and unsustainable fishing
methods (for example bottom trawling, “factory” vessels, dynamite or cyanide), and illegal,
unreported and unregulated fishing.

Furthermore, since early 2020, the COVID-19 global pandemic has spread through the world causing exceptional health, social and economic damages including to the fishing sector. Ports, fishing markets and restaurants were closed, causing a significant reduction of the business of catching and selling fish products and consequently the loss of employment and income for many people, especially women that are constituting a high proportion (albeit an often hidden one) of workers in this sector.

The economic impact of COVID-19 was strongly felt among the small-scale fishers and in aquaculture workers since most of them operate without social protection plans or insurance, and are paid less than the legal minimum wage, often without a written contract, or are self-employed. Moreover, their business frequently requires sophisticated logistics (for food conservation and distribution), which was disrupted because of the lockdowns.

Governments throughout the world intervened to support those negatively impacted by the pandemic, especially their most marginalized citizens. However, because of the deficiencies within these exceptional governmental interventions, many people fell between the cracks and were left alone to cope with the crisis, though some were reached by charitable organizations, including Catholic ones such as Stella Maris.

The COVID 19 pandemic has taught us that everything is connected and that we are in the same boat. It is necessary to join our efforts to create a new social conscience and innovative form of solidarity in which no one is left behind. Pope Francis invites us to “bring the whole human family together to seek a sustainable and integral development, for we know that things can change. […] All of us can cooperate as instruments of God for the care of creation, each according to his or her own culture, experience, involvements and talents[…]”. Clearly, “if everything is related, then the health of a society’s institutions has consequences for the environment and the quality of human life.” We certainly need better and more proactive institutions and policies to support, promote and protect all those involved in the fishing sector as well as their families. Undoubtedly, “a great cultural, spiritual and educational challenge stands before us,” (Encyclical Letter Laudato Si’, N° 13, 14, 142 and 202) since major and complex improvements must be carefully implemented and coordinated.

On this World Fisheries Day, I would like to invite governments, international organizations, fisheries and faith-based organizations, and in a particular way Catholic institutions such as Stella Maris and Caritas, to join hands in effectively implementing the existing conventions and legislation, and collaborating to find innovative solutions for these inter-connected problems faced by the fishing world in an effort to protect “our common home”.

Cardinal Michael Czerny S.J.
Prefect

New mental health support service for Ukrainian seafarers and families

The Stella Maris chaplain and volunteers still operating in Odesa are facing increasing demands for mental health support from Ukrainian seafarers and their families suffering trauma, worry and fear during the ongoing war.

The Stella Maris Seafarers Support Service, a new programme of medium to long term support from professional psychologists in Ukraine, is now being put in place. The platform will provide a programme of remote, ongoing psychological consultation for those most in need.

International law firm HFW has very kindly agreed to fund the first tranche of this programme by sponsoring Stella Maris on Monday 10 October – World Mental Health Day. 

Paul Dean, Global Head of Shipping and Senior Mental Health Champion at HFW, said: “Seafarers already have one of the toughest jobs on the planet – a life at sea can mean months away from loved ones, long hours, and some of the roughest weather imaginable. But those in Ukraine have also been living with the terrible realities of war, while bravely continuing the vital role all seafarers play in enabling global trade. We are proud to be helping Stella Maris in providing them with much-needed mental health support.”

Stella Maris UK CEO Martin Foley added: “The trauma of living in a war zone, with sporadic missile and drone attacks, cannot be overestimated. Many seafarers have also been separated from their families which has added to their anxiety. This project will ensure seafarers and their families can take mental health action at a critical time and we offer our sincere thanks to HFW on their behalf.” 

Tees ship visitors support crew denied shore leave

The plight of a crew from a bulk carrier who had been denied shore leave for up to 10 months, and whose work contracts had been extended, has finally ended thanks to our Tees ship visitors.

The ship arrived at Tees Dock in Northeast England on the weekend of August 13 and 14, with 22 seafarers on board. On August 15, two Stella Maris’ ship visitors Billy Barnett and Roger Worton conducted a routine visit, taking with them welcome packs and bags of clothing for the crew. These were well-received by the men.

During the course of conversation, several crew members indicated that all was not right on board. Billy and Roger found out that some of the crew had not been allowed shore leave for up to 10 months, due to Covid risks. Their contracts had also been extended for up to 10 months.

This initial contact with the crew was followed up by a second one the day after by another two of our Tees ship visitors, Graham Sargeant and Wico van Mourik. They were not allowed to board the ship, so a senior crew member came down to meet them.

The seafarer said the crew was under huge mental and physical strain on the seafarers. He said that during the voyage to Teesport from the United States, he was only getting two hours sleep a day because he was so stressed and overworked. Communication with family back home was also limited. There was internet onboard, but it wasn’t very good, the seafarer had said.

He was also concerned that the crew were no longer able to operate the vessel safely as they were exhausted.

Worried about the crew’s physical and mental wellbeing, and their safety, the Stella Maris team contacted the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) and the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), who visited the vessel on August 17. A vessel detention notice was served that afternoon.

Following that, the seafarers were able to go ashore for the first time in many months. They spent time relaxing at the South Tees Mission Centre. More good news was to follow, as 11 of the crew were repatriated to the Philippines on August 20.

The men had been through a lot and were struggling to cope, but fortunately, our Stella Maris ship visitors were present to check on them and find out about their trouble and inform the MCA and ITF so prompt action could be taken. They visited the crew, and offered advice, reassurance and encouragement throughout their ordeal. They also supplied SIM cards, clothing and chocolate, all of which they were grateful for.

Billy and Roger with some of the crew members