With seafarers in the front line of maintaining the world’s trade, in the midst of COVID-19, Stella Maris (Apostleship of the Sea) port chaplains are providing them with practical help and pastoral care.
Its 230 chaplains, who work in over 300 ports in 41 countries, are keeping in contact with seafarers, and provide them with sim cards, so they can contact their families; toiletries; and other basic items.
In the Philippines, where around a third of the world’s 1.5 million seafarers come from, port chaplain in Manila and Stella Maris regional coordinator, Fr Paulo Prigol and his team are accommodating 120 seafarers in three seafarers’ centres during lockdown and providing them with daily meals.
He added that the centres, which are cleaned daily with disinfectant, each have a gym, cable TV, and a good internet service with free Wi-Fi.
In Taiwan, Fr Yance Guntur, port chaplain in Kaohsiung, has distributed hand sanitisers and face masks to a group of fishermen, who have been barred from leaving their vessels.
While the seamen’s club in Ghent, Belgium, has been closed, port chaplain Fr André Quintelier and his team of volunteer ship visitors are still allowed to continue visiting vessels but must adhere to strict health and safety guidelines.
In the UK, port chaplain to the Tyne Paul Atkinson has been putting together packages of toiletries, chocolate and prayer books for seafarers. These are delivered to ships by the harbour master, port pilots, or shipping agents.
Elsewhere, Steve Willows, a port chaplain in Immingham, Lincolnshire, is making rosaries with twine for seafarers, after watching a You Tube video explaining how to do it.
Esteban Pacha, chair of trustees for Stella Maris in Great Britain, and a former ship’s captain, said:
In this time of societal upheaval, ensuring the continuity of maritime trade is vital for the global supply chain and global trade flows, including currently crucial items such as vital medical supplies and equipment, as well as food and energy
