Ministering to seafarers during Covid-19

I’ve been a Stella Maris Chaplain for just over six months now and I must admit it’s been quite a steep learning curve. I mean, well, I expected it to be steep in terms of the knowledge I would need regarding different kinds of ships at sea and the different words sayings and phrases I would need to understand around seafarers and fishers.

I also needed to learn about the many different nationalities that I would be ministering to and the different ports and docks that I would be visiting. Around a third of the world’s seafarers come from the Philippines, with large numbers also coming from Kerala and Goa in India.

So, I knew all of this would happen, after all I had worked for almost 40 years on the railways including working on freight terminals, so understood a little about the movements in ports, where ships dock, and I did appreciate the kind of Ministry I was entering into, but nothing could have prepared me for the last two months. Yes, that’s right, Covid-19.

I am a regional port chaplain looking after seafarers and their pastoral and spiritual needs in the Medway and Dover ports. I look after seven ports regularly and another two from time to time. Among the ports I look after along the Kent coast are Northfleet Rochester, Chatham and Sheerness which usually have many visiting cargo ships and crews to look after. I also look after Dover Port which as well as cargo ships, has cruise ships too.

Each year about 5,000 ships visit ports on the Medway, with about 80,000 seafarers on board. The ships carry everything from fish and meat to fuel and wood. I am always so happy to serve my brothers and sisters of the sea as they supply us with most items in our cupboards at home. I had never given a lot of thought before regarding how much we rely on the people of the sea, who can be living at sea for up to nine months at a time, and in some cases in poor working conditions. They leave behind their families for months at a time and exist as kind of nomads, sailing from one country to another and, because of the nature of the modern maritime industry, having little time ashore.

Over the last few weeks ministering with Covid-19 breathing down my neck has really opened my eyes to what seafarers do for us after all, if cargo ships carrying vital supplies decided to stop, the consequences to our daily lives would be much more serious than they are.

Around the country in different ports including Tilbury, Dover and Southampton there are many cruise ships without passengers on board but with many thousands of crews, male and female on board waiting to go back to sea. They cannot leave the vessels and we as chaplains cannot go on.

So, what do we do? Well, we pray. We pray a lot for their intentions and our own too. That is really what sustains us. As well as that we take to each vessel, where we are allowed:

a)           Stella Maris magazine for seafarers and other publications.

b)           Prayer Cards and Rosaries.

c)           Chocolates and Biscuits.

d)           Woolly Hats.

e)           My Business Card so that they can keep in touch.

We also supply wifi units where requested. We are in touch with the crews on board and if the Captain or crews ask for anything, we are there to serve them, day or night 24 hours per day.

In terms of spiritual sustenance, I make a weekly prayer video along with another chaplain who is based in Southampton. We dedicate one day each week to put together the video in order to get it on board for the following Sunday. The crews join us in prayer as like everyone else, we do not have the ability to go to Mass.

So, I knew this role as a chaplain was going to be different, and a challenge but I never could have imagined it would be like this. Being a port chaplain means not just providing practical help, but also pastoral care and truly giving my service and love, continually.

I worked for almost 40 years on the railways, beginning as an apprentice and ending up as Head of operations for a railway company in London. I had a lot of satisfaction out of my career on the railways but I can honestly say that I have never felt the joy and contentment that I feel as a chaplain with Stella Maris. And oh, God does have a sense of humour..............

John Fogarty is Stella Maris Regional Port Chaplain, Medway and Dover

The weekly prayer videos can be found at https://www.youtube.com/user/AoSGB/videos