Press Room

AoS Receives International Award

Apostleship of the Sea was honoured at a recent awards ceremony for their contribution to the protection of the rights and promotion of the welfare of Filipino workers in the UK. The award was made by the International Inter-Agency Committee for Filipino Migrants and was presented in Quezon City in the Philippines.

“It is a great honour for our chaplains to be recognized in this way. They are privileged to meet and work with many Filipinos who visit our ports and they do everything possible to ensure that their experience in the UK is a positive one” commented Sheila Bailey, Director of Communications and Fundraising.

The award citation stated that it was being made for “fully assisting and supporting Filipino seafarers worldwide, not only in their spiritual and pastoral needs, but also in defending their rights and providing them counsel and other worthy activities while on shore”.

Mrs Bailey pointed out that “I have put significant emphasis on bringing the plight of many seafarers to the public’s attention. I have also met with many MPs, Ministers and Civil Servants to ensure that they are briefed on the issues our chaplains are dealing with on a daily basis. In this I have been assisted by Whitehouse Consulting, who have provided their services free of charge in support of seafarers. In this, the International Year of the Seafarer, Apostleship of the Sea will continue to campaign for seafarers’ rights and ensure that they receive adequate care whilst visiting UK ports”.

Julian Brazier, MP for Canterbury and Whitstable, and Shadow Minister for Aviation and Shipping, recently met with Apostleship of the Sea Chaplain, Sr Marian Davey in Dover. Mr Brazier was keen to hear about the challenges our chaplains’ face and the issues that they deal with in individual ports. Mr Brazier has taken a keen interest in the loss of British seafarers from the Merchant Navy. He congratulated Apostleship of the Sea on their ship visiting programme, ensuring that they respond quickly to seafarer needs in port and on their continuing dedication to providing welfare services to all seafarers.