Warm Kiwi welcome for seafarers deeply appreciated

Sea Sunday was celebrated globally on July 13. The director of operations of Stella Maris in this country wrote about the work of this apostolate.

Every year, around 1500 cargo ships, 1000 cruise ships and numerous trawlers visit ports in New Zealand, with more than 230,000 crew working on these vessels, the director’s statement noted. Most seafarers are from the Philippines and South India, with large Catholic populations, and from China and Russia.

Stella Maris is tasked with the ministry of providing the facilities and services these seafarers need when they come ashore for a break from their duties on the ship. Stella Maris is also responsible for providing pastoral support to the Catholic seafarer.

Cargo vessels arriving in ports receive a visit from a ship visitor, welcoming the crew to New Zealand. Ships receive portable wifi so seafarers can contact home after weeks at sea, and the services provided at the local seafarers’ centre are explained.

At such centres, crews receive a warm Kiwi welcome and have a place where they can relax while taking short leave. Free tea and coffee are available, along with wifi connectivity. Currency exchange is offered as is transportation to the city for shopping and sightseeing.

Stella Maris has been tasked by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People for the care of “The People of the Sea”. The Church recognises the often difficult and exploitative work conditions under which seafarers and fishers work and seeks to provide the necessary support to ensure their well-being.

While Stella Maris supports all seafarers regardless of religious affiliation, nationality, race or gender, it is also specifically tasked with the pastoral care of the Catholic seafarer and fisher. When a Catholic arrives in a port on a ship or trawler, Stella Maris is there as the representative of the local church to welcome them, as an expression of the Church’s universality. The visitors are not strangers, but are part of the local church while present in a diocese.

After weeks at sea, months away from their families and often labouring in challenging and dangerous work conditions, receiving a warm welcome on arrival in New Zealand is deeply appreciated by the seafarers who visit New Zealand ports.

The ministry of Stella Maris to seafarers can be supported in several ways: by donations, fundraising, knitting beanies for seafarers and donating warm jackets. Volunteers are needed to assist in this ministry.

FULL STORY

Stella Maris – A Friend to Seafarers (Catholic Diocese of Hamilton)