Author: Sarah Eustace

The first visit to the UK for most of the crew of the Lan Hua Hai to Tees Port could not have come at a better time for the AoS chaplain Deacon Peter Barrigan as a recent addition to the Volunteer Ship visiting team were Billy and Jun Li Barnett. 
              Jun is Chinese and her husband Billy had spent time out in China. Jun accompanied Deacon Peter on his visit to the ship and the crew were, to say the least, surprised and delighted to find a fellow country man so far from home.
              Although delighted to meet Jun and Deacon Peter they were a little subdued as they had been at sea some time without shore leave and they had assumed they would not be allowed ashore in UK. 
              Deacon Peter made a couple of phone calls and cleared up the misunderstanding for which the officers and crew were thrilled. Jun and Billy volunteered to look after the crew during their stay.

              The Tees team organised shopping trips first of which was to Tesco. With 16 crew all lined up at the checkout some of the locals were a bit put out as they had to wait as Jun had to help each seafarer with translation however when she explained to the waiting shoppers where the guys were from and how long they had been at sea the locals were quite happy to wait their turn and were asking questions about them. 
              Most of the purchases were treats and gifts to celebrate the recent Chinese New Year. Another trip was for fishing equipment to use whilst at sea. They also took lots of photographs as a momento of their visit. 
              As the ship left the Tees heading for Murmansk Deacon Peter gave the Captain a Bible in Chinese which was accepted with some curiosity.

              A few days after they left the team received the following message which Jun was able to translate:

Billy Barnett

More photos can be seen on Facebook here.

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Apostleship of the Sea (AoS) has launched its global port chaplains’ directory which helps seafarers and fishermen get access to pastoral and welfare support wherever they are in the world. 
              The Port Chaplain Directory 2018 lists phone numbers and e-mail addresses of 216 port chaplains covering 314 ports in 57 countries, compared to 261 ports across 55 countries in 2017. 
              “The increase in numbers worldwide demonstrates that the provision of pastoral care for seafarers and fishermen remains as vital as ever. Providing up to date and accurate details of all our chaplains is a valuable resource for seafarers and for the Church to respond effectively to those whose livelihoods depend on the sea,” said AoS National Director Martin Foley.
              He said, “Our chaplains worldwide are seeing more requests for Mass to be celebrated on board, and many seafarers appreciate being able to practice their faith.” 
              Martin added, “Just as importantly, we are being asked more and more to visit seafarers in hospital to provide companionship and support before they are well enough to return home. Recently, one of our chaplains supported a Catholic seafarer from Croatia who was badly burnt. While recovering in hospital, it became clear his body was rejecting hospital food, so our chaplain arranged for his wife to use the cooking facilities at a nearby church so he could get home-cooked food."
 

               AoS Development Director John Green said the presence of AoS port chaplains globally enabled the charity to provide sustained support to seafarers and fishers across continents and for as long as was necessary. 
               “In one case, we supported a crew member in a US port, while also standing ready to support the needs of his family in South East Asia,” he said. 
               He added, “This provision of care, and in particular its human element, does so much to lift the spirits of seafarers.” 
               AoS is the largest provider of port-based pastoral and spiritual care for seafarers in the world with around 650 chaplains, ship visitor volunteers and staff globally who visited an estimated 70,000 ships worldwide last year. 
               The directory is available both online and in hard copy and port authorities or shipping companies wanting copies for their crews should get in contact with the charity.  
               AoS’ Port Chaplain Directory 2018 can be downloaded here.

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Glasgow Rotary made Apostleship of the Sea (AoS) their most recent guests. 
              At their monthly meeting in the city’s Marriott Hotel, AoS Scottish Development Officer Euan McArthur was invited along to share with them some stories about AoS’ involvement both in Great Britain and further afield where seafarers have been helped. 
              Joining Euan that afternoon was volunteer Jim Timmoney, parish contact of Our Lady and St Mark’s Alexandria, who helped initiate the engagement. 
              Long-serving Rotary Member, Davy Broni, said, “We would like to thank AoS for taking the opportunity to join us and, we would certainly like to help their ministry moving forward. We like to hear about work being done locally like the help given to Zlatko, the Croatian seafarer, while he was in hospital here in Glasgow.” 
              Rotary’s strong Christian emphasis sees them welcome many charities and endeavour to help worthy local causes.

* Euan will swim 60 laps on April 14 to raise funds for seafarers. Please support him by making a donation here https://www.justgiving.com/campaigns/charity/aots/euan-swim-2018

From left: Euan, Past President Mark Merley, Jim and President George Russell 

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Huge congratulations to Juvenal Shiundu on being awarded the Papal Blessing. It was a perfect 'leaving gift' for JJ, who stepped down after serving as Apostleship of the Sea trustee for the past nine years.
              Born in Kenya, Juvenal (or JJ as he is known) is Deputy Director/Head, Programme Management at the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and heads up its Africa Section.
              He is a naval architect having obtained a Bachelor of Science (Hons), Naval Architecture and Shipbuilding from the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. He also holds a Master of Science in Maritime Safety Administration (Marine Engineering) from World Maritime University in Malmo, Sweden.
              JJ is also a member of the Honourable Company of Master Mariners. He became an AoS Trustee in 2009.
              JJ says, "I am humbled to have received the Papal Blessings and to have had the opportunity to serve as a AoS Trustee."

JJ receives his Award from AoS national director Martin Foley. Looking on are other AoS trustees.

* Find out who our trustees are https://www.apostleshipofthesea.org.uk/our-trustees

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Every year, Apostleship of the Sea (AoS) port chaplains and ship visitors bring the joy of Easter to seafarers when they visit ships before and during Eastertide.
              This year is no different as they were out in force taking palms, spiritual material and Easter eggs (of course) to the crews.
              A lot of the Easter eggs are kindly donated by schools and parishes – thank you everyone of you!
              Some seafarers were also taken to Easter Mass. The seafarers really enjoy being able to go because as our Immingham port chaplain Steve Willows says, "…getting to an Easter mass whilst on board doesn’t really happen!"
              Here is a selection of Easter photos sent in by our chaplains. You can see more photos and read about our Easter ship visits on our Facebook page here.   

AoS Portsmouth ship visitor Irene Chapman distributing Easter eggs to seafarers 

Easter eggs for this happy seafarer in Portsmouth

The lovely crew of MT Songa Emerald and volunteer ship visitor Tony in Immingham celebrating
Palm Sunday and Easter all at once

Fr Andrew Cole meets seafarers after Easter Mass in Grimsby

AoS Immingham port chaplain Bryony Watson collects Easter eggs from pupils of St Joseph’s
Primary Academy, Cleethorpes

AOS Dundee ship visitor Jacqueline McGuire and seafarers meet Bishop Stephen Robson,
our Bishop Promoter in Scotland after Easter Mass

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The friendly face of Fr Hubert Nelskamp OFM at the top of a ship’s gangway has been a welcome sight for seafarers arriving at the ports of Naoetsu and Kushiro in Japan for the past 50 years. 
              Fr Hubert, 80, is retiring this month after spending almost a third of his lifetime supporting seafarers’ pastoral and practical needs.
              “After much deliberation and prayer, I have decided, for reasons of age and health, to return to Germany,” said Fr Hubert who will be based at the Franciscan monastery in Dorsten.
              “After 50 years in the ministry in Japan, saying farewell is not easy,” he adds. 
              As port chaplain of Apostleship of the Sea (AoS), Fr Hubert has brought many seafarers to Mass whilst they were in port.
              “When they have time to spend in port, they like to come to the church to pray and relax,” says Fr Hubert, who also celebrates Mass on board ships. 
              He particularly remembers celebrating a Mass during which the ship’s captain, an Egyptian man, said to him, “We have just passed through a typhoon and feared we would go down. We’d like to thank God that we are still alive.” 

              Such encounters have strengthened Fr Hubert’s believe that seafarers need all the support they can get when they come into port, especially after spending weeks at sea, vulnerable to the weather and work conditions on board. 
              After 50 years as AoS port chaplain Fr Hubert feels the need for chaplaincy in support of all seafarers, regardless of their religious beliefs, is now greater than ever, especially since the September 11 terror attacks in New York.” 
             “Before the incident, I was able to enter the port and meet seafarers on their ships at any time but it is more challenging now as I have to get clearance every time I visit a ship, which I gladly do, especially as there is no seafarers’ centre in Naoetsu port for crew to go to.” 
             In 2011, Fr Hubert was instrumental in setting up a fund to support Japanese fishermen affected by the earthquake and tsunami. 
             He also fondly remembers the many occasions when he distributed presents to seafarers, particularly over Christmas and New Year. These were normally woolly hats and other items, knitted by a team of dedicated volunteers.
             “I have met many seafarers during my time as port chaplain, and am very thankful for everything that they bring to us from different countries on the long journey by sea, from food and household products to fuel and clothes.”

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Our Cebu Experience – by Hugh and Mary Ward, Apostleship of the Sea Teesport Ship Visiting Volunteers 

             The initial reason for wanting to visit Cebu was to visit Captain Flores. He took poorly a short time after we saw him at Teesport.
             After we booked our resort, Fr John Mission (AoS Cebu Port Chaplain) informed us that he had a few things planned for us.
           
             A warm welcome
             We arrived at Plantation Bay Mactan Island at 5.30pm Wednesday 28th February. At 9am the following morning we were met by our reception committee – AjAj, Sr. Dorleen and Aida.

With Fr John and AjAj           
             
             We were given such a warm welcome then whisked off to the Associated Marine Officer's and Seamen's Union of the Philippines (AMOSUP) hospital for seafarers where we were greeted by the clinical director and other hospital staff.
             We then joined the AoS volunteers on their weekly visits. This was a something new to us and we felt very humbled.

With Hospital Director and volunteers
           
             Mary's 'magic bag'
             Mary had her magic bag which had rosaries donated by our parish [Our Lady of The Rosary, Peterlee] in the UK.
             These were distributed among the patients and families.
             Fr John and Captain and Mrs Garcia plus other volunteers joined during the morning.
             After photo stops we assembled in the canteen for a delicious lunch. Yummy!
             We were quite amazed when people apologised because there was only rice and noodles. We explained that we eat these at least three times a week.

With staff and volunteers         
             
             After lunch we went to the Centre at the port for a quick briefing from Fr John. (Looks like we are going to be busy).
             We then had an ice cream stop in Robinson’s Galleria then off to visit the government building and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).
             The director Mae Codilla gave us a warm welcome and explained the role of the agency.
             
             Food and more food
             We delivered a birthday cake for her so we had more food. It was explained that Filipino people eat three meals per day and snack in between.
             Later in the afternoon we returned to the Centre where Captain Garcia was waiting for us.
             He then took us to his family home where we met his family and a sumptuous meal. We were finally delivered back to our resort at 10pm.

Mae Codilla's birthday tea
             
             Our next meeting with the AoS family was Saturday morning when’s AjAj took us to port for the volunteers monthly meeting.
             This was a very well-structured meeting, two good/interesting speakers, and well-attended.
             After snacks we gave a short account of the work we do in the UK.

AoS Cebu volunteers meeting

             Emotional meeting 
             Saturday evening was an emotional meeting with Captain Flores.
             His wife brought him to the hotel then they took us to their home where we met their family and enjoyed a wonderful meal.
             Captain and Mrs Flores expressed their gratitude for the help given by AoS in the UK and Cebu.
             Again, the emotions were high when they dropped us back off.

Meeting Capt Flores and his family
             
             Sunday saw us up before the sun. We went to the port, where Fr John had arranged to say mass on board mv Don Charles Robert, through the HR department of the ship’s owners.
             These people were also at the Mass and thanked us for attending and giving our time.
             The Master spoke of his time in international shipping and remembered visiting our home port, Teesport.
             Mary once again distributed Rosary beads. After this it was off to Fr John’s sitting room, Robinson’s for brunch.

Mass on board mv Don Charles Robert
             
             Later we went to Santo Niño Basilica where we were able to venerate the statue. Then to Magellan’s Cross.
             The next time we met our AoS family was the Wednesday morning. It was planned for us to be at Mass at the Marine College but because of the high volume of traffic we were late.
             Nevertheless, we met the Director of the College who remembered also visiting Teesport. Then the fun began.

Magellan's Cross
           
             Fr John had arranged an island-hopping excursion for his volunteers and ourselves. What a great day!
             Lots of food, a little drink, lots of chat and pictures. Thank you Fr John!
             The end of the day was sad as we had to say goodbye to the volunteers. Sad yes but many happy memories.

Island hopping
             
             Final goodbyes
             Friday night we were able to host Fr John and his fantastic driver AjAj to a meal in one of the restaurants on our resort.
             We could have talked all night. Our final goodbyes were said and we thanked god for the wonderful time we had had.
             
             To sum up…
             We were overwhelmed by the kindness and love shown to us by the Cebu AoS family. 
             You have a thriving centre, something we do not have. We pray that this continues to flourish and support seafarers.
             You have an absolutely wonderful Chaplain. Don’t let the Bishops move him in next years’ shuffle.
             God sent him to minister to seafarers. Pray for him. Your volunteer group are exceptional.
             May God bless them and let them continue to support the AoS.
             We now understand and can visualise places and conditions the crews talk about. 
             We feel we have another family now living in Cebu.
             Lastly, thank you. We have brought home such beautiful memories and new ideas.
             May God bless you in all of the work you do. 
             ~ Hugh & Mary Ward

The wonderful Fr John Mission

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Apostleship of the Sea (AoS) were active participants prior to the recent Celtic v Rangers Scottish Cup semi-final match at Hampden Park, Glasgow, on April 15. 
             A team of enthusiastic volunteers left from St Aloysius parish, Garnethill, after the 10.30 am Sunday Mass and headed  for the National Stadium on the south side of the city. 
             Thanks to their efforts and some fine weather on the day, AoS managed to collect £1,004 in less than two hours collecting in the lead up to kick-off. 
             Amid the thousands who converged to Hampden to see Celtic defeat Rangers 4-0, an AoS volunteer from Jersey spoke with collectors outside the ground and numerous other supporters were aware of the charity’s presence throughout Scotland. 
             
             AoS would like to thank The Sisters of the Gospel of Life for providing them with parking facilities close to the stadium. 
             Euan McArthur, AoS Scotland Development Officer, said, “We offer a huge thank-you to AoS volunteers for their efforts and generosity in helping out on the day.” 
             Betty Queen, one of those volunteers, said, “It was a fun day and we’re just happy to have helped such a good cause.” 
             Twenty-four hours earlier, £455 was raised from a coffee morning and raffle in St Aloysius which was held following both the 10am and 12.30pm Masses.
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AoS Durban port chaplain Fr Herman Giraldo recently provided pastoral care for the crew of a ship who were distressed after their Captain died on board. 
                  Containership Conti Courage was on its way to Durban from Asia in mid-March when tragedy struck on board. 
                  While en route, the Master, a 55-year-old Ukrainian, fell ill and the ship was diverted to Port Louis, Mauritius, where medical evacuation had been arranged. 
                  Sadly, he died on the evening of March 18 as the ship was approaching Mauritius, and preparations were made for his body to be taken off the ship. 
                  Unfortunately, rough sea conditions made it impossible to get to ashore, so the vessel sailed for Durban, South Africa, with the remains of the Master on board. 

                  The crew members, distressed and shocked by their loss, asked for a Catholic Priest to visit them and bless the ship. 
                  Fr Herman went on board to provide spiritual comfort to the seafarers. “I visited them and spent time speaking and listening to their concerns. We prayed together, though not all of them were there because the ship was being worked at the same time,” he said.
                  Fr Herman (in photo) also blessed the ship and crew. “It was a sad time for the seafarers, but at the end of the day there was a sense of relief in the midst of the grief, stress and bewilderment,” he said. 
                  He added, “This incident is a powerful example of AoS’ ministry of going to where the hurt is… the Church in outreach to those on the margins.” 

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Bravo to Apostleship of the Sea (AoS) in Jersey who held another successful Walk to France on May Bank Holiday on Monday, 1st May.
             It was a glorious sunny day and a total of 79 walkers took part. Out of those, 12 completed 18 laps to France, around St Catherine's Breakwater and the total number of laps covered by all was 631 – approximately 502 miles.
             It was an amazing achievement by all on a very hot day, quite a difference to last year in the wind and rain. Funds collected on the day will go towards AoS' work supporting seafarers and also to the Knights of St Columba. 
             The gent in the photo wearing a Hawaiian shirt is Jimmy Spriggs, who at age 69, completed all 18 laps yet again! Amazing!

             On a sadder note, Monsignor Nicholas France Parish, priest and Catholic Dean of Jersey (in striped t-shirt), whose original idea created the walk, retires this year so it'll possibly be his last walk as their Parish Priest. 
             Well done everyone!

* More photos can be seen on our Facebook page here https://www.facebook.com/AoS.GB/posts/10156598220378938

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