|
Prayer Corner
For the repose of the soul of Fr. Gerard Clenaghan, AOS USA Cruise Ship Priest.
For Fr. Gerard Kenny, AOS USA Cruise Ship Priest who is retiring due to health issues. May God keep him in His care.
For Chris Fogarty, AOS USA Mariner Member, and Vice-President who is struggling with health issues related to diabetes. He appreciates the prayers of his AOS USA family.
For those held hostage by pirates throughout the world.
For all those in pirate infested waters that God will protect them.
For those suffering from floods, droughts, tornados, and other harsh weather conditions. May the Peace of Christ sustain them, as they work to rebuild their homes and their lives.
We ask the intercessions of Our Lady Star of the Sea, for a calm, uneventful hurricane season.
|
Join AOS USA Today!
To join AOS USA simply click on the following link:
| |
|
Dear Friends,
AOS USA was a co-sponsor of the Western Gulf Observance of World Maritime Day on September 29th. Leading experts from the US Maritime Administration, the Coast Guard, the Chamber of Shipping of America and the Master, Mates & Pilots shared their perspectives and policies in orchestrating the response to priacy.
In addition, maritime industry experts from the Nautical Institute, Securewest and Gallagher Marine Systems shared their expertise on counter-piracy practices.
A special thanks to the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants for sending a special message from Archbishop Veglio to the conference participants.
In this edition of the AOS USA Maritime Update we share with you:
- Archbishop Veglio's Message
- A great article on AOS - Baltimore
- New initiative to assist seafarers and their families impacted by piracy
- Additional piracy stories.
With piracy season gearing up again, please pray a special rosary or prayer to Our Lady Star of the Sea for mariners in harms way, and for the conversion of those who pray on merchant shipping.
Fr. Sinclair Oubre, J.C.L.
President
|
|
Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care
of Migrants and Itinerant People
A US Observance of IMO's World Maritime Day:
Port Arthur International Seafarer Center
September 29, 2011
The mass media generally report on the phenomenon of piracy in the Gulf of Aden that has changed dramatically with an increase in number of attacks and hijackings far from the coast, the use of guns and other sophisticated arms, more violence used against the sequestered crews, and the request for higher ransom and longer period of negotiations.
However there are many other areas in the world where piracy is also present not intending to hijack the vessel but simply to steal whatever valuables are on board of the vessel.
These happenings put pressure to the maritime industry because pirates are a threat not only to international economy but in particular to the life of innocent seafarers working to secure a decent future for their families. A recent study has revealed that, during 2010 alone, 4,185 seafarers were attacked by pirates using firearms, and rocket propelled grenades; 1,090 were taken hostage; and 516 were used as human shields. No fewer than 488 were reported suffering significant psychological or physical abuse. As of today (September 19) according to the data given by IMB Piracy Reporting Centre in Kuala Lampur, there are still around 300 seafarers in the hands of the pirates.
At the political level individual governments and international maritime organizations are debating how to enhance security for the vessels and protect shipping routes. The use of different but longer and more secure routes are not interesting to the ship owners. The IMO has issued circulars with interim recommendations on the use of privately contracted armed security personnel (PCASP) on board ships in the High Risk Area leaving to each flag State, individually, to decide whether or not PCASP should be authorized for use on board ships flying their flag.
These solutions tend to act more on the effects of piracy than on the causes that have created this phenomenon. Unless political stability will be brought in to the region with an effective implementation of the rule of the law and by specific programmes of training and formation offered a valid alternative to the easy money of piracy, this phenomenon will continue to affect the international trade but most of all the life of seafarers, fishers and their families.
It is necessary to keep the society at large informed about the important role that the maritime industry and specially the seafarers are playing in the world economy transporting almost 90 per cent of the produced goods.
I appreciate that the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has chosen, as the theme for this year's World Maritime Day: Piracy orchestrating the response to highlight the efforts it has been making, over several years, to meet the challenges of modern-day piracy and has developed a six points Action Plan which include "provide care for those attacked or hijacked by pirates and for their families".
AOS being an organization providing spiritual and material welfare to the people of the sea is more concerned in providing assistance to the victims of piracy that are undergoing prolonged months of psychological, verbal and sometimes physical stress.
AOS with its international network of chaplains and centers around the world (together with other NGO's directly involved in the maritime ministry) could become an important partner to government agencies and ship owners in providing direct and practical assistance to the seafarers and their families before, during and after their ordeal.
In order to prepare AOS for these responsibilities it is important:
- to establish guidelines for the coordination with the different institutions involved and a course of action for seafarers and their families to be implemented when necessary, clearly identifying the different level of responsibility and intervention.
- to have an open channel of direct communication with governments agencies, ship owners to monitor the development of the negotiations and eventually to report to the families.
Then AOS in cooperation with other professional organizations and people could coordinate:
- the spiritual, psychological, social and material assistance to the families during and after the hijacking protecting them from curious reporters and intrusive media.
- A long term plan of action to take care of the crew after they are released. As a matter of fact seafarers who have experienced limitation of freedom, food depravation and sometimes even torture need the assistance of professional people in order to fully recover from their trauma.
The way in which these different points will be implemented in the different countries might vary considering the national, political and social implications but it remain of fundamental importance that seafarers and their families in such a moment of distress and suffering will receive assistance and receive comfort from the dedicated chaplains and volunteers of AOS.
In the end I would like to invite all of you to pray fervently so that a political solution may be found for this problem.
Through the intercession of Mary, Star of the Sea, we implore the Lord to sustain the hope of the seafarers still in the hands of pirates and to give them strength to face the long months of uncertainty and suffering, and give solace to their families.
Sincerely yours,
X Antonio Maria Vegliņ
President
X Joseph Kalathiparambil
Secretary
|
For merchant mariners, a place of solace in Baltimore
Stella Maris International Seafarers Center a welcoming retreat for sailors
|
Seamen (from left) Vishram C. Tandel, Anil Kumar Tandel and Vijay Kumar of India arrive at the Stella Maris International Seafarers Center. The Seafarers Center uses the van behind them to pick them up from their ship and take them to buy necessities, visits doctor or, in this case, go to Walmart. (Amy Davis / The Baltimore Sun / October 4, 2011)
|
The Baltimore Sun
6:06 p.m. EDT, October 9, 2011
Toothpaste and spiritual comfort share space in the double-wide storefront in Magazines and snacks fill crannies and shelves, racks hold donated sweatshirts and winter jackets and somehow, wedged toward the back, is a quiet corner to make a phone call or connect via Skype with family members half a world away. When you are at sea for months at a time, delivering cargo to ports around the globe, the tiny Stella Maris International Seafarers Center can seem like a palace stuffed with the good things of life. Opened seven years ago by the Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore, the center is about to double in size to give merchant seamen a lounge to stretch out and watch a movie, a back patio to barbecue dinner and a chapel for quiet reflection and prayer. The expanded center will be dedicated on Oct. 15, with But even the bigger space doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room. "We have a small footprint," says Monsignor John FitzGerald, who oversees the Apostleship of the Sea ministry that operates the center. "We don't want a country club. Our ministry is to be mobile, to take care of their needs on the ship or get them in a van and bring them here or to the services they need." Each year, the center hosts more than 12,000 mariners, most of them young men from emerging nations. The efficient unloading of ships at modern ports like Baltimore leaves precious few hours to take care of personal business. Port security requirements and a lack of mobility further compress time. But with one phone call, a van driven by a volunteer from the center will arrive, ready to take the sailors to a doctor, an eyeglass repair shop or an electronics store. On a recent morning, three young men from Delhi, India, on a short shore leave from their ship, MSC Claudia, have a one-stop-shopping request. "Walmart, please," says Vishram Tandel. Working like an air-traffic controller, volunteer Andy Middleton ushers the mariners into the center while talking on the phone to a volunteer van driver bringing a second group of sailors with a similar request. While inside, the seamen scoop up free toiletries and snacks and peruse gently used clothing donated by parishioners and social service groups. "Our guys don't need coats or ties. They need T-shirts, ball caps, Levi's and Dockers," says FitzGerald, the port of Baltimore chaplain. "What can't be used here we give to Our Daily Bread. Nothing goes to waste." In a small cubicle, Ravinder Solanki connects with his family on Skype. Peals of laughter punctuate the conversation as his wife, three children and dog gather around a laptop in Delhi while he hunches over a laptop in Dundalk. After saying goodbye, Solanki leans back in his chair and grins, but his brown eyes are moist and he takes a deep breath before saying thank you. It may be weeks before he can speak with them again, he says. Life at sea is hard, says FitzGerald. Mariners sign contracts of eight to 10 months' duration, forcing them to miss the birth of children or the death of loved ones. The suicide rate is high and the work - especially with piracy on the rise - can be dangerous. The seafarer center is more than just a convenience store, phone booth and taxi service. To help seamen lacking clearance to leave the port or those who are restricted because of on-ship duties, volunteers come aboard with magazines (white bags for secular publications, blue bags for religious ones), loaner laptops and hotspot devices. "We don't charge for anything," says Middleton. FitzGerald works with pro bono lawyers to free delayed paychecks or smooth over contract disputes. Middleton drives seamen of other faiths to houses of worship, once locating a Latter-Day Saints meetinghouse for a troubled Mormon seaman and waiting until he was ready to return to his ship. The archbishop offers praise for FitzGerald and his volunteers and says the center "fills a great spiritual void in the lives of the many women and men who pass through the Port of Baltimore." In a 1997 letter, Pope John Paul II updated the duties and responsibilities of clergy in ministering to the maritime community and urged bishops in seaports "to show zealous concern for and to offer pastoral assistance to all maritime personnel who reside, even for a short time, within his jurisdiction." Cardinal William H. Keeler asked FitzGerald, a retired Navy and Marine Corps chaplain, to start a Baltimore chapter of the Apostleship of the Sea in 2003. "We started from scratch. We didn't have a building. We didn't have a staff. We didn't have a single volunteer," FitzGerald says. Now, they have all of that and more. The chapel, stark white with warm, dark furniture, gives FitzGerald a place to hear confession and say Mass in six languages. And just this week, a motel near BWI Airport called to donate a van that had been used as a shuttle. "These guys go from port to port and they don't know anybody. Pope John Paul II called them the invisible strangers among us," says FitzGerald. "We make sure that in Baltimore they don't have to feel like strangers." |
|
A programme to help seafarers and families cope with the physical and mental trauma caused by torture and abuse at the hands of pirates launches today in London, England.
Pirates are routinely using extreme brutality and the threat of death against seafarers and their relatives. The new Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Programme (MPHRP) is intended to help those seafarers and their families cope with the resulting pain and anguish.
Funded by the ITF (International Transport Workers' Federation) Seafarers' Trust charity and The TK Foundation, and chaired by Peter Swift, formerly MD of industry body INTERTANKO, the new programme speaks for an alliance of shipowners, trade unions, managers, manning agents, insurers and welfare associations representing the entire shipping industry, from crews to owners.
Its mission is to aid seafarers who have been or may be subject to pirate attack. Somali-based pirates now regularly treat hostage seafarers with extreme violence in order to put pressure on their families and/or employers to expedite their ransom demands. This includes phoning family members and making the seafarer plead for his life while he is abused and threatened with death, and filming this and posting it online for relatives to see.
Peter Swift, MPHRP chair, explained: "Piracy is reaching an all-time high: in the number of incidents, in the vast ransoms demanded and, most of all, in the extreme violence used. The treatment meted out to the victims now frequently crosses the line from savagery into torture."
"The effects are potentially horrendous," he continued. "For those, say, who successfully resisted capture but were nearly burnt alive in the room in which they barricaded themselves; for the brutalised hostages; and for those who daily put to sea in fear that it may at any time happen to them. And that's not to forget the families, who are now firmly on the pirates' target list."
Roy Paul, of the ITF Seafarers' Trust, and MPHRP programme manager, added: "Until now, there has been little coordinated help for those who are suffering. Now that will change. With the help of those in the industry who want to do their best for those involved, we intend to build up a network of first responders and get psychosocial help for affected crews."
He concluded: "We have already been listening to seafarers and recording their experiences. Those will lay the foundation for new guides for seafarers, families and employers, for training in their use, and for building the networks of human and medical help that are now desperately needed."
Peter Swift and Roy Paul will be speaking at the event alongside Dr Marion Gibson, psychosocial consultant to the MPHRP (their speeches appear in full below, along with testimonies of those affected by piracy). Other guests include: Second Engineer Chirag Bahri, who was held hostage by pirates for eight months and was subjected to torture; Bishop Kalathiparambil, secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People; Rear Admiral Ort, chief of staff of NATO's HQ in Northwood; Capt Andy Winbow, assistant secretary general, IMO; leaders of international shipping organisations and other programme partners*.
The MPHRP partner organisations** are: BIMCO, ICMA, ICSW, IFSMA, IGP&I, IMB, IMEC, IMHA, Intercargo, InterManager, INTERTANKO, IPTA, ISAN, ISF, ITF, IUMI, OCI and SIGTTO.
The MPHRP observers are the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the NATO Shipping Centre.
The MPHRP funders are the ITF Seafarers' Trust and The TK Foundation
ENDS
For more details please contact piracyresponse@btinternet.com; programme chair Peter Swift on telephone 01344 627430, email petermswift@gmail.com; or programme manager Roy Paul on telephone 020 7940 9251, email paul_roy@itf.org.uk
For Speeches & Additional Information Click Here
|
 Date: Thu, 6 Oct 2011 18:57:56 -0400
From: Coast Guard Mariner Flag Forum
Fellow Maritime Professionals, The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) issued a news release warning of increased likelihood of pirate attacks in the Indian Ocean now that the monsoon season is weakening. Nearly 4,000 seafarers have been taken hostage by Somali pirates.
I've been involved in counter-piracy since the Maersk Alabama incident. USCG put out the maritime security directive requiring private security and other risk-based practices for US flag ships in the Horn of Africa area. Then USCG got very active via the UN Contact Group for Counter Piracy and the IMO Maritime Safety Committee. US Maritime Administration and US Coast Guard co-chaired an interagency piracy policy workgroup and the UN workgroup. We've been very involved with the international maritime industry's development of the best management practices (BMP) and three IMO interim directives for flag states, ship owners, and coastal states to abide by the BMPs. We feel these efforts have been successful since fewer ships have been attacked successfully due to the BMPs, increased naval presence, and privately contracted armed security personnel.
IMO Secretary General Mitropoulos has designated 'Piracy' as the theme for World Maritime Day observances in 2012. I invite maritime professionals to learn more about piracy in the Indian Ocean and consider attending the World Maritime Day Observance event in Tampa later this month.
World Maritime Day Observance and Coast Guard Mission Conference Tampa, Florida - October 27-28: http://www.namepa.net/2011/2011WorldMaritimeDay_flyer.pdf
Merchant vessels are encouraged to adopt Best Management Practices (BMP4): http://www.mschoa.org/bmp3/Pages/BestManagementPractises.aspx
Maritime Piracy Humanitarian Response Programme (MPHRP), a program to help seafarers and families cope with the physical and mental trauma caused by torture and abuse at the hands of pirates, was launched recently in London: http://www.itfglobal.org/press-area/index.cfm/pressdetail/6451/
RADM J. A. Watson,
USCG Dir. Prevention Policy
|
 We're Not All Pirates!"... Somali Fisherman To Be Issued ID Cards And Uniforms
Somalia's fisherman are hampered by their inability to reach foreign markets By Jama Deperani, Somalia Report Local fishermen in Somalia will now wear uniforms to differentiate them from the pirates, according to officials from Puntland, a semi-autonomous region of Somalia known for piracy. Fishermen in Caluula, Mareero, Qandalla and Bargaal told Somalia Report that people are afraid to go fishing because of the threat from pirates who steal their boats, motors, and fuel and concerns international navies may mistake them for pirates. To remedy this, Puntland officers have initiated a program to identify legitimate fishermen by issuing uniforms and ID cards. "We know that pirate activities in the region have caused fear among local fishermen, so we need to help them. We will issue them with uniforms and ID cards. First we will register all local fishermen in Puntland. We have already begun in Bosaso and all coastal lands in Bari region," Dr. Mohamed Farah Aadan, Puntland's minister responsible for fishing, told Somalia Report. "We will inform our coast guards and international warships that there will be a clear difference between the pirates and fishermen," he added. |
Drug Traffickers Kill 13 Chinese Crewmembers after
Hijackings on Mekong River
Monday, October 10, 2011
Last week, gang drug traffickers in the notoriously dangerous Golden Triangle area in north Thailand hijacked two Chinese-flagged ships on the Mekong River in order to move large amounts of drugs. The traffickers brutally murdered 13 innocent Chinese crewmembers aboard the seized vessels, sparking fury and sadness from China and Thailand.
Thai authorities confirmed the deaths of the Chinese crew on Monday. Seramsak Seesan, chief of Chiang Rai's Chiang Saen District told Xinhua News that the drug ring of Shan, or Tai Yai, ethnic group led by Nor Kham were the ones responsible for the tragic slayings. The gang is known for demanding money from the ships in which they hijack on the Mekong River, and mercilessly kills crewmembers who do not comply with their demands. They are also known to target ships from China, passenger or cargo ships alike, for robberies and payment demands that often end in death.
The bodies of the crewmembers were found near Chiang Rai in northern Thailand over the weekend, and the ships were seized earlier in the week on Wednesday. They were found with their limbs bound and blindfolded, with lethal gunshot and knife wounds, said the China Daily.
The Golden Triangle region, which borders Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand, is a known area for production and trafficking of heroin and other dangerous drugs. The Bangkok Post said that Thai authorities after seizing the boats post-gun battle found over 920,000 amphetamine pills, about US$3.22 million worth, as well as garlic, apple, and fuel cargo.
Citizens of China have been outraged by the news and clamoring on the internet with criticisms that the government has not taken a strong enough stand to defend the country. As a result of the incident, China has suspended of all of their marine traffic on the Mekong.
Autopsies have been ordered for the victims, and relatives of the sailors will arrive on a later date to engage in the investigation and claim the bodies.
Sermasak Seesan said this was the first time drug traffickers have hijacked a commercial ship.
|
|
|
Important Upcoming Events for
AOS USA Members
Houston Maritime Chaplaincy Training Program
Feb. 5-16, 2012
@ Houston International Seafarers' Center
Houston School Application
XXIII World Congress of the Apostleship of the Sea
November 19-23, 2012
@ The Vatican
|
|
|
Help for piracy victims launches today
