News & Events

'Like' us on FaceBook

We are currently running  a facebook push to be the seafarer's charity with the most ‘Likes’!

For those of you that already have a facebook account, be it personal or for work, we are asking if you could please visit our Apostleship of the Sea page and 'Like' it if you have not done so already. We are then asking if you could message all your friends and put a shout out on your wall for everyone you know to go to the AoS page and ‘Like’ it. Here is a quick link to our AoS page.

For those of you who are not yet on facebook, consider setting up an account. It is a great networking tool and a great way to keep personal contact with family and friends. It is easy to set up an account. Just go to www.facebook.com to read more about it.

Please help us become the number one 'Liked' seafarers charity on FaceBook.

The crew feel unable to leave the ship until they have been paid

Ship’s crew remains stranded in Portland after 3 months

The plight continues of the crew of the cargo ship, the Westwind II which has been arrested in Portland harbour for the last three months.  On the 17th October the ship ran aground on the north east breakwater of Portland harbour with 11 crew onboard.  Portland Harbour despatched tugs to bring the vessel to the port where she was detained by the Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA) for a significant number of deficiencies, the ship was later arrested by the Admiralty Marshal.  Over the last three months local volunteers of the Apostleship of the Sea have visited the ship many times. 

As the crews situation became increasingly precarious not knowing whether the ship would be sold or whether unpaid wages would be met, the Apostleship of the Sea volunteers provided much needed support and continue to do so.  This support ranges from the very practical supply of phone cards and internet access so they can speak to family and loved ones back home to liaising with the MCA and Admiralty Marshal about the ships arrest.  Local port chaplain Roger Stone detailed examples of the local Apostleship of the Sea team’s care for the crew when they arranged for the ship’s chief engineer to visit a local dentist for treatment and in early December whilst visiting the crew at 6.30 in the morning speedily arranged for an ambulance for a crewmember who had suffered serious burns from a ruptured hot water pipe. 

The Apostleship of the Sea team is working with the seafarers’ trade union, the ITF to ensure that unpaid crew wages are settled.  Roger said ‘many partners together with the local Apostleship of the Sea volunteers are providing much support and comfort to the crew, in what in any case is an extremely stressful time, well done to the Apostleship of the Sea Portland volunteers’.

See the article on BBC News for more information.

Day out for the Medway Team

The Medway team of Volunteer Ship Visitors met at Aylesford Priory for a team building day out. They attended the 12 Noon Community Mass and then held a business meeting in the Library followed by lunch in the Pilgrim's Hall.

It was an opportunity to share their experiences and to be affirmed in the good work they do for Seafarers in the Medway, Dover and Rye. A good day was had by all.

New Helpline for Seafarers from Apostleship of the Sea

A contract for the provision of an out of hours helpline and referral service for seafarers was signed on Wednesday 4 January between Apostleship of the Sea (GB) and the International Seafarers Assistance Network (ISAN), the provider of the SeafarerHelp helpline and referral service. The Apostleship of the Sea helpline will be multilingual and operate out of hours seven days each week when the port chaplains are off duty, so that seafarers visiting GB ports have full 24 hour coverage and support from the Apostleship of the Sea in the event that problems arise either on board or with their families at home around the world.

Speaking after the contract was signed, Martin Foley,  AoS (GB) National Director, said “Our port chaplains and volunteers already provide valuable help and support to seafarers of all nationalities and religions visiting our ports here in Great Britain, whatever time of the day or night it is needed. This new out of hours service will allow us to extend this support to those occasions when our chaplains are off duty and/or unavailable.”

The ISAN Chairman, Mark Chahine-Warrington, said “Our SeafarerHelp service already provides help and support globally to over 3,000 seafarers of all nationalities each year through our multilingual helpline operators. We regard the service as an industry asset, and anything we can do to assist our colleagues in AoS (GB) in supporting seafarers we are very happy to provide.”

The service will be operational from early in February and will be subject to regular reviews to make sure it is fully effective in enabling AoS GB and ISAN to meet the needs of seafarers in accordance with their different, but complimentary, aims and objectives.

ISAN is the charity which provides free multilingual assistance and referral services to seafarers worldwide through its SeafarerHelp service based in East Croydon which is generously supported by grants from the TK Foundation, ITF Seafarers Trust and Seafarers (UK). 

For more information about ISAN visit www.seafarerhelp.org

Cruise ship chaplain helps passengers and crew of sunken cruise ship off Italian coast

One of our AoS Italy chaplains has spoken of how he helped passengers on board the Costa Concordia, which sank off the Italian coast on Friday night.

The cruise ship was carrying thousands of passengers and hundreds of crew. Three people are confirmed dead with dozens still missing. The chaplain onboard assisted shocked crew and passengers, including those injured. 

National Director of the Apostleship of the Sea in Italy Fr Giacomo Martino, said, 'The work of cruise chaplains onboard is of great value to encourage and support crew and passengers at difficult moments.’

He praised the crew of the ship. 'The crew worked to save passengers with great generosity and a spirit of selflessness.’

Thousands of passengers have begun to arrive at the Savona cruise terminal where the local Apostleship of the Sea is joining other agencies to distribute clothing and food. It is also providing spiritual and emotional support.

The priest and parishioners on the island of Giglio, where the ship sank, worked during the night to assist those leaving the ship. Fr Giacomo called for prayers to be offered for those who have died and those missing.

Each year the Apostleship of the Sea deploys  chaplains on many cruise lines to support the pastoral and practical welfare of crew and passengers. Last year more than 700 cruise chaplains  provided 15,000 days of cruise chaplaincy across the world.

John Green Director of Development here at AoS, was recently interviwed by Vatican Radio on the subjects of pirates.
"Today, he says, seafarers are finding their “ships are high-jacked and they’re kept for many months in appalling conditions either aboard their vessel or taken ashore.”

In this interview with Tracey McClure, John Green explains some of the ways the Church takes a lead in offering assistance to seafarers and their families, and advocates on their behalf to get governments, shipping companies and others to combat piracy more effectively. If you would like to listen to the whole interview you can do so by following this link to the radio station

http://www.radiovaticana.org/en1/Articolo.asp?c=544121         

St Andrew's Day Prayer

Wednesday 30th November is St Andrew’s Day. A happy feastday to Scots and fishermen of whom St Andrew is their patron.

The Apostleship of the Sea’s port chaplains and volunteers visit ships in Troon, Hunterston, Greenock, Glasgow Docks, Grangemouth, Leith, Aberdeen, Peterhead, Fraserburgh & Shetland. Last year they visited more than 1,000 ships, including fishing boats, cruise ships and supply vessels supporting the oil & gas fields. We ask for St Andrew’s prayer for all those at sea around Scotland and involved in the fishing industry especially that the ILO Fishing convention may be ratified by governments to provide for better living and working conditions for fishermen.

Port Chaplain Recalls Meeting Crew of Ship Recently Sunk in Irish Sea

A port chaplain has spoken of her meeting the crew of the cargo ship that sank in the Irish Sea this weekend.

The Swanland sank ten miles off the coast of Wales in the early hours of Sunday morning after a huge wave cracked its hull.  The ship was carrying limestone rocks. One member of the Russian crew died and five are still missing.

Sister Marian Davey, Apostleship of the Sea chaplain in Ipswich, went on board the Swanland earlier this year.

‘The crew was a little bit frosty at first, but this is common with Russian seafarers. When I gave them some news bulletins in Russian, they were very grateful,’ she said.

Sister Marian also drove some of the crew to the seafarers’ centre in the port, so that they could use the internet and phone their families back home.

‘This tragedy is a reminder of the dangers seafarers face each day to bring us various goods we rely on. Like so many seafarers, the crew on the Swanland lived a very hard life. 

‘But they go to sea because it’s the only way they can provide for their families.’

Alexander McCall Smith Signed Books Up For Grabs

For all you fiction fans out there. We are very lucky to have been donated five personally signed novels from the famous author Alexander McCall Smith (famous for his No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series).

We are auctioning these books of at the charity site Giving Lots. To view and bid on a book and see our other auction items follow this link to the Giving Lots AoS Page. Happy Bidding!

Jenna Skydives for AoS

On 12th November Jenna Keenan leapt out of a plane over Swansea, South Wales for a sponsored skydive to raise much needed funds to support the work of the Apostleship of the Sea.

Jenna wanted this to be a tribute to her ‘grampie’, who also did much fundraising for AoS. "It was fantastic, I loved every second!!!!" said an exhilarated Jenna on landing.

"I hope the Apostleship of the Sea gets a lot of benefit from the money I have raised, I know my Grampie would be pleased, especially because I raised it in his memory."
 
Jenna has so far raised over £350 and is still fundraising. You can support Jenna by visiting her donation page at www.justgiving.com/jenna-keenan.

Joint Mass of Thanksgiving

A special joint Mass of Thanksgiving was held at St Mary’s Church, Sunderland on Saturday 8th October which celebrated the role of the Laity in the life of the church, specifically the 90 years of the Apostleship of the Sea, 90 years of the Legion of Mary and the wonderful ongoing work being done by the St Vincent de Paul Society.

The church was full for this lunchtime Mass which began as Fr Kevin Dixon, (St Mary’s) Mgr Ronnie Brown (AoS Trustee) and Fr Mariadass, (Sacred Heart, Sunderland) processed into church led by Frank Barrett, National Standard Bearer of the AoS.  Following words of welcome, various symbols were brought forward to be placed on the altar; a stand with three lights representing the Trinity, a lighted star representing ‘Stella Maris’ (Our Lady Star of the Sea), a miraculous medal representing Our Lady’s promise to Catherine Laboure, that’ all who wear it will receive great graces, plus several other representative items associated with the Mass.

In the Homily, Fr Kevin, spoke of all three societies, outlining the establishment of the AoS in Glasgow in 1920, the papal blessing given to it’s work in 1922, and the development that has led to the modern AoS we know today. The AoS is active in ports in over a hundred countries in the world

He also spoke of the first meeting of the Legion of Mary on 7th September 1921 when fifteen young women considered how under the auspices of Mary, they could best please God and make him loved in this world. Today the legion has over four million active members and ten million auxiliary members in over 170 countries.

Fr Kevin also spoke of Frank Duff whose own life of devotion and steadfastness saw him achieve massive strides forward, both as a member of the Legion of Mary, and later in the SVP. A man ahead of his time Frank worked tirelessly on several fronts and sought to bring Protestants, Jews and Catholics together. However this did not

sit well with the established Catholic church of the time, and he was told to cease this activity. Undeterred, Frank was instrumental in opening hostels for derelict men and women, and for unmarried mothers, at a time when a lone mother was virtually an outcast. He opened a shelter for prostitutes and gained support for his endeavours. Frank’s prophetic interpretation of the role of the laity, and particularly his understanding of the concept “that what you do to another person we do to Christ”, ultimately received rightful recognition, when he was given a standing ovation at the fourth and final session of the Second Vatican Council on September14th 1965.

The Mass continued prayers for his holiness Pope Benedict, our Bishops, priests, deacons and chaplains and for the work of all societies involved in pastoral care in whatever scenario.

After Mass there was a splendid reception in St Mary’s Parish Rooms at which those present were able to view a display of material about the work of the AoS, particularly in the Port of Sunderland and the north east region generally; there was also a powerpoint presentation including slides depicting the AoS work with seafarers.

This was a wonderful shared occasion; many thanks to all who played a part in it.

Tony McAvoy, Lay Chaplain NE Ports

AoS Takes Part in Flower Festival at St Mary's Cathedral, Middlesbrough.

After making a Sea Sunday appeal during Masses at St Mary’s Cathedral, Middlesbrough, Tony McAvoy AoS Port Chaplain for Tees & Hartlepool, received an invitation for the AoS to participate in a forthcoming Flower Festival to commemorate 25 years since the laying of the foundation stone at the commencement of construction of the modern Cathedral building.

The Festival was to include wonderfully inventive and creative flower displays depicting the life of Our Lady, under the general title of ‘Mary’s Journey’ and was to be held over an extended weekend in late September.

The displays included, 'Our Lady of Perpetual Help' (patron of the diocese of Middlesbrough), the Visitation, the Nativity, Our Lady of Fatima and many more - thirty in total. The AoS involvement was, not surprisingly in the display of 'Our Lady Star of the Sea'.  The ladies involved in this particular display, Audrey Gallagher and Margaret Nertney put together a splendid arrangement of flowers, and other items found at sea. The AoS provided some of the flowers, together with our pull-up banner facsimile of the Icon of Our Lady Star of the Sea, and photographs were also displayed of the Icon when it visited the Cathedral in 2006 as part of a tour of the north east region, before moving on to tour the whole of England and Wales.

The display attracted great comment and massive interest in the Icon prayer cards, and the leaflets we provided explaining the imagery of the Icon itself.

Photograph attached; Ship Visitors Sister Scholastica, and Juliana Henderson (Sunderland) and Brenda Bland (Hartlepool) at the 'Our Lady Star of the Sea' display during a visit to the Flower Festival.

Tony McAvoy, Lay Chaplain NE Ports

‘IT WAS GOOD YOU WERE THERE’ Marine Society Dinner

On Tuesday evening dozens of maritime media professionals gathered for their annual awards dinner in London.

Two Apostleship of the Sea port chaplains were also invited in recognition of AoS’s invaluable support of seafarers particularly when hospitalised. The prestigious dinner was opened by AoS Felixstowe port chaplain Sr Marian Davey (pictured) praying Grace. It was great to have such recognition from industry as well as the gratitude our chaplains hear day-in day-out from grateful seafarers. (also pictured AoS Medway port chaplain Deacon Daniel Mulcahy)