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AOS USA Maritime Updates 

The Professional Association of Catholic Mariners, Cruise Ship Priests and Catholic Maritime Ministers.

 

January 31, 2014
In This Issue
Apostleship Supports Mariners' Symbol at National Shrine!
All Human Life is Sacred: Cruise Passengers and Refugees.
Notes from our Priests at Sea.
Heroism on the High Seas: An exclusive Knights of Columbus Interview with 4th Degree Knight who lead rescue mission of Capt. Phillips!
Ministry onboard Cruise Ship offers opportunities for Retreats and Annointings!
Two Years after Costa Concordia, Cruise Ship Safety has improved, says GAO.
US Flag Fleet Under Fire!
Request from Friend Ships.
Other News Items.
Upcoming Events
PrayingHands

    Prayer Requests:

 

For a special request from AOS-USA Member Maria Redd. Ms Redd lost her Mother, a brother and a sister, all in the course of 1 year. She reads the e-news and prays for the prayer requests listed faithfully.  She now requests your prayers for her family. 

Please keep in prayer her Mother, Mrs. Isabella Redd, her oldest brother Spencer Redd, and her sister Sonja Redd in your prayers, for the repose of their souls.   And in a special way, please keep our dear Member, Maria Redd in your prayers, that God will give her His comfort and, and the strength to continue moving forward each day in His service. 

 

For the repose of the soul of the Night Auditor onboard the Seabourn Pride who died unexpectedly of natural causes. She was a very young Catholic lady and this has been a terrible shock for her family, friends and crewmembers. Please keep them all in your prayers. 

 

For the repose of the soul of the Mother in Law of Capt. George McShea. May her soul and the souls of the faithfully departed, rest in peace, and may God's comfort and peace be with her daughter Kathleen and all the family.  

 

 

For Bishop Raymond Boland, AOS-USA Cruise Ship Priest, and brother of AOS Bishop Promoter, Bishop J. Kevin Boland.  Bishop Raymond Boland learned that his cancer has returned. He appreciates the prayers of his AOS Family.

 

 

For Fr. Edward McKenna, AOS-USA Cruise Ship Priest who had heart surgery this past week. He asks for prayers from his AOS Family.  

    

 

For Msgr. Francis Frey, AOS-USA Cruise Ship Priest member whose cancer has returned. His doctors have advised him they can only slow it down. Please keep this good priest in your prayers.    

 

   

 

For the continued healing of our AOS USA past vice president, Chris Fogarty, who is now back at work, and continues to heal.

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Apostleship Supports Mariners' Symbol at National Shrine 
Courtesy: ProfessionalMariner.Com
By: Fr Sinclair Oubre, JCL
January 10, 2014 

(AOS-USA extends sincere appreciation to Professional Mariner Magazine for posting this article in their magazine, to help get the word out to mariners about this special project!)
 
For centuries, Catholics have called on the intercessions of Our Lady Star of the Sea to guide and protect merchant mariners, fishermen, and those in our sea forces from all the dangers of the sea. Members of the Confraternity of Our Lady Star of the Sea, in Morgan City, Louisiana, realized that of the many images and titles of our the Blessed Virgin Mary at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C., that one of the oldest, and the one that is most precious for seafarers, fishermen, and their families was not present. They approached the Apostleship of the Sea of the United States of America, and together they have come to the final point of now executing a beautiful relief designed by Lou DiCocco and St Jude Liturgical Arts Studio.

The National Shrine has accepted their proposal to have a roundel marble relief carved in Italy, and placed above the Cardinal's Door, near the relief of the Korean Martyrs in the East Narthex. The relief portrays Mary calming the troubled sea, with the North Star above her head.

Fund raising is 75% complete, and the hope is that the relief will be blessed on National Maritime Day, May 22, 2015. The Confraternity and AOS-USA wishes to invite members of the maritime community join in this project. Contributions, which are tax deductible, and can be sent to:

Apostleship of the Sea of the United States of America (AOS-USA)
1500 Jefferson Dr.
Port Arthur, Texas 77642

Contributors of gifts of $1,000 or more, will receive a replica bronze medallion of the relief. For more information, contact Doreen Badeaux at aosusa@sbcglobal.net, or by phone at 409-985-4545
 

Fr Sinclair Oubre photoAll Human Life is Sacred: Cruise Passengers & Refugees 
Courtesy: Sidelights - December Edition
Journal of the Council of
American Master Mariners
by: Fr. Sinclair Oubre, JCL
AOS - Diocese of Beaumont 
 

For the past 24 months, the Mediterranean has become a sea of death. For most people, January 13, 2012, sticks out in their minds. On that evening, the great cruise ship M/V Costa Concordia sliced her hull open to the Mediterranean waters. As the world watched, this great ship listed and then settle on her starboard side. News bureaus reported that this maritime casualty claimed the lives of 32 seafarers and passengers.

The story of the Costa Concordia continues to occupy the news. One can visit You Tube, and watch numerous video clips of the aftermath, the trials, the salvage engineering, and most recently, the successful rolling of the vessel back to an upright position. In the last few days, these news agencies have reported that DNA tests have confirmed the human remains of the one of the missing victims, thereby leaving only the Indian seafarer, Russel Rebello, as still unaccounted.

While the Costa Concordia story remains in the news, more deadly stories of  hundreds of African immigrants dying in these same waters over the last two months, are only blips among the many quickly passing news stories. However, the human cost between the loss of the Costa Concordia and the recent sinking of these immigrant coffin ships challenge the world as to why the lives of cruise line passengers are afforded so much concern, while hundreds of African immigrant lives pass with little more than a short note.

In less than ten days, hundreds of refugees died off the island of Lampedusa:

1.    October 3, 2013: Five hundred people were on board the 66-foot fishing boat when it began to have engine trouble less than a quarter-mile from Lampedusa, causing the ship to begin sinking. In an attempt to contact nearby boats, a blanket was lit on fire. However, this fire grew worse when it ignited some gasoline and began to engulf the boat before it sank. To avoid the flames, many people threw themselves into the water or moved away from the fire to the same side of the ship, which then capsized.

    A total of 155 people were rescued. By 12 October, the bodies of 359 victims had been recovered, with 30 victims still unaccounted for.

2.    October 11, 2013: Seventy-fives miles from Lampedusa, a boat, carrying over 200 migrants from Syria and Palestine, capsized when people on board moved to one side of the vessel as they tried to get the attention of a passing aircraft. Thirty-four immigrants were confirmed dead. Some 147 survivors were taken to Malta, and a further 56 were taken to Italy.

These frightening figures are part of the long deadly story that has been going on since the beginning of the Arab Spring. The United Nations High Commission on Refugees reported that in 2011, more than 1500 refugees drowned while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea.
This made 2011 the deadliest year since UNHCR started to record these statistics in 2006.

During 2009 and 2010, border control measures sharply reduced the number of arrivals in Europe. However, this trend was reversed in 2011, as the governments in Tunisia and Libya collapsed.

Sadly, with the continued civil war in Syria, the political unrest in Egypt and Libya, and the economic opportunity that appears to lie just over the horizon, there seems to be no end of these tragic stories.

Spiritual leaders have tried to call the world's attention to this human tragedy, but like so many times before, the elites who set policies and priorities for their countries and the world, have "bigger" issues confronting them.

When Pope Francis visited Lampedusa on July 8, 2013, he tried to bring the world's focus to this human tragedy. During his homily he said:

    "Immigrants dying at sea, in boats which were vehicles of hope and became vehicles of death. That is how the headlines put it. When I first heard of this tragedy a few weeks ago, and realized that it happens all too frequently, it has constantly come back to me like a painful thorn in my heart. So I felt that I had to come here today, to pray and to offer a sign of my closeness, but also to challenge our consciences lest this tragedy be repeated. Please, let it not be repeated!"

    Then Pope Francis concludes by saying: "...I would like us to ask a third question: "Has any one of us wept because of this situation and others like it?" Has any one of us grieved for the death of these brothers and sisters? Has any one of us wept for these persons who were on the boat? For the young mothers carrying their babies? For these men who were looking for a means of supporting their families? We are a society which has forgotten how to weep, how to experience compassion - "suffering with" others: the globalization of indifference has taken from us the ability to weep! In the Gospel we have heard the crying, the wailing, the great lamentation: "Rachel weeps for her children... because they are no more". Herod sowed death to protect his own comfort, his own soap bubble. And so it continues... Let us ask the Lord to remove the part of Herod that lurks in our hearts; let us ask the Lord for the grace to weep over our indifference, to weep over the cruelty of our world, of our own hearts, and of all those who in anonymity make social and economic decisions which open the door to tragic situations like this. "Has any one wept?" Today has anyone wept in our world?"

As a member of the Seafarers International Union, I take pride in our motto: Brotherhood of the Sea. In a world that focuses only on bright and shiny things like cruise ships, our union newspaper, The Log, monthly carries stories of US-flagged ships delaying their voyages in order to rescue seafarers, fishermen, refugees, and yachtsmen. During the upcoming United Seamen's Service's Admiral of the Ocean Seas Banquet, retired Congresswoman Helen Bentley will again honor numerous mariners for living out the ancient tradition of rendering aid to those in distress at sea. In addition, the International Maritime Organization annually honors mariners and shipping companies that put efficiency and profits aside to assist seafarers in distress. I find much solace in these many examples of compassion and courage. However, I also know that the officers and men of these vessels often face hostile bureaucrats when they arrive in port. Even to the point of accusing these rescuers of being human traffickers.

As I have spent the last few hours reflecting on this subject, I realize that I don't have to travel to the Mediterranean island of Lampedusa to find beneficiaries of mariners' sea rescues. In my diocese of Beaumont, we have Vietnamese priests, religious and fishers who fled Vietnam in boats very similar to those that have tragically caused so many recent deaths. If mariners had not stopped three decades ago, and snatched these refugees from the sea, my diocese and my community would be so much poorer today.

I realize that for most of the world, Pope Francis' complaints about an indifference to the human tragedies happening all around us will not even be a blip on their radar screens. However, I take heart that by reading this reflection, for just a moment, we will recall our brothers and sisters who are in dire straits, say a prayer for them, and maybe shed a tear for these who have been claimed by the merciless sea. 
 
Christmas at Sea
 
Throughout the Chrristmas Season, our priests sent in notes from their experiences onboard. We thought we wold share a few of these with you:

  

I served onboard the Royal Caribbean Majesty of the Seas. The highlight was Christmas Midnight Mass in the ship theater. The activities director, Mauriziaio, and the musicians were extremely helpful. We had approximately 350 passengers and crew at the Mass---and much smaller numbers for the 8 AM Mass and 10:00 ecumenical service on Christmas Day.  All in all, a very happy experience!

 

Fr. John Conley, SJ

AOS-USA Cruise Ship Priest  

 

 

I completed a Transatlantic Cruise on HAL - The NOORDAM  on 15 November.  It was a very interesting and good cruise.  The number of passengers attending Daily Mass as well as the Sunday & Holy Day Masses was the largest I have ever experienced on a Cruise.  In fact, they had to change the location of the Mass - from a classroom to a double classroom to a Culinary Center and finally to the ship's Theater.  

 

 Additionally, they asked  me to participate in a commemoration of a Veteran's Day Program.  It was also during this time that the Typhoon hit the Philippines.  Many of the crew are Filipinos - hence, there was a great deal of counseling and comforting going on.   

 

HAL did have a short program for the Filipinos that was open to the crew and ultimately to the passengers.  The Captain spoke and I offered a prayer.  I also let the crew know that their families and friends would be remembered in the Crew Mass that Sunday evening.  They were very appreciative and I think it helped alleviate some worry and concern. 

 

Fr. John B. Boyle

AOS-USA Cruise Ship Priest  

 

 

And Fr. William F. Kornacker decided to let his camera do the talking, while serving onboard the Seabourn Spirit.

 

Fr. Bill Kornacker sets up for Midnight Mass onboard Seabourn Spirit. 
AOS-USA Cruise Ship Priests were serving onboard both of these ships which found themselves docked side by side on Christmas Day. 
And the sweetest photo of all....The Nativity Scene at the Cathedral in St. Lucia. 

 

We hope these notes and photos help spotlight the universality of our church and how much our member priests are doing for so many! 

 

 

Heroism on the High Seas:
An exclusive Knights of Columbus interview: The critically acclaimed film Captain Phillips features a naval rescue mission led by a Fourth Degree Knight

 

Courtesy: www.KofC.org

by Brian Caulfield

Capt. Richard Phillips of the cargo ship Maersk Alabama, right, stands alongside Cmdr. (now Capt.) Frank Castellano, commanding officer of USS Bainbridge, after being rescued by U.S naval forces off the coast of Somalia April 12, 2009. (CNS photo/U.S. Navy handout via Reuters)

 

The new movie Captain Phillips, about the rescue of Capt. Richard Phillips, played by Tom Hanks, was released Oct. 11. A tense drama, the film is based on the 2009 hijacking of an American cargo ship by pirates off the coast of Somalia and the successful recovery effort by the U.S. Navy.

 

The daring Easter Sunday rescue of Capt. Phillips was overseen by Cmdr. (now Capt.) Francis X. Castellano, who is played in the movie by Yul Vazquez. A member of the Knights of Columbus for 27 years, Capt. Castellano belongs to Kempsville Council 10515 at the Church of St. Mark in Virginia Beach, Va., and Holy Cross Assembly in Germantown, Tenn.

 

In an exclusive Knights of Columbus interview, Capt. Castellano talked about his roots in the Order and the importance of his Catholic faith. An extended version of the interview is published online at kofc.org.

 

What are some of your early memories of the Knights of Columbus, and what led you to join the Order?

Capt. Castellano: My father was heavily involved with Patchogue (N.Y.) Council 725. He was the grand knight right around the time I was born. He was also a district deputy and a Fourth Degree Knight. My earliest memories are of accompanying my father and mother to K of C events. Our council had a catering hall associated with it, and I used to wait tables and wash dishes there. I became a Columbian Squire and then a chief squire. So, my life was surrounded by the Knights of Columbus.

What drew me to the Knights was the fraternity and fellowship that I saw. My father had many friends. He was a World War II veteran and there were many veterans in his council. I remember them regaling me as a boy with their stories from their time in the service. Growing up, I also remember attending the council's annual Blue Mass to honor our fallen local firefighters and police officers. I remember helping out with the K of C for those less fortunate in the area, raising funds for charity, and I remember that camaraderie and sense of service. As a result, I was very interested in doing more with the Knights as a young person.

Prior to my departing for the Naval Academy, right around my 18th birthday, I made my First Degree and became a member. A few years back, when I was in Germantown, Tenn., I became a Fourth Degree Knight. With my friends there we started an assembly, and I was a founding member.

 

I think the K of C, with its fraternity and service, is something that stays with me. It is a rock I can always rely on. As a Knight, you gain lifelong friends and also a support network that can help bring you through troubled times or key decisions in life. Knights are men of faith you can depend on for help.

 

What attracted you to military service?

Capt. Castellano: Growing up with my father as a veteran, and through interaction with other veterans, I gained a sense of service and a desire to join the military. When I was about 8 years old, I got the idea to go to the United States Naval Academy. I entered at 18 and have been wearing the uniform for 27 years. The former chief of operations had a saying: Every day when you put on the uniform on, you put on the cloth of the nation. That really means a lot to me.

 

Could you tell us a little about your family life?

Capt. Castellano: I have been married 22 years to my wonderful wife, Lisa. We have two beautiful daughters. My wife has been very strong and supportive of the family as I progressed in my career. I have been on a lot of sea duty, which means long periods away from home. We try as much as we can to have dinner together when I am home, and to discuss what we have done during our day.

 

Being a father is very important and comes with obligations to be a role model, to go to church, show your faith, pray with your family, and be there in their times of need. You want the best for your children, and the best way to do that is to be a great example for them.

 

What role has your Catholic faith played in your life?

Capt. Castellano: I grew up around Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church in Patchogue where my granduncle was the pastor. I grew up as an altar boy there, and became an usher, a lector and a eucharistic minister. So I think that the Catholic faith and the power of prayer are very important. My wife and daughters gave me a Mariner's cross, and also I carry the rosary my dad gave me when I became a Knight of Columbus. My faith played a big role in the rescue mission.

 

How did you and your crew become involved in the rescue mission?

Capt. Castellano: On April 8, 2009, the Maersk Alabama was attacked by four Somali pirates, 300 miles off the coast of Somalia. This is actually the first act of piracy against a United States flag vessel in over 200 years. The USS Bainbridge, which was under my command, was the closest vessel to the scene, so we were ordered to approach. On the way, we came to learn that the heroic crew of the ship had captured one of the pirates and then taken back their vessel. However, the pirates had taken Capt. Richard Phillips hostage on one of the ship's lifeboats. So we arrived on scene in the early morning of April 9, and over the next several days we conducted negotiations to attempt to peacefully resolve the incident. Unfortunately, the pirates did not want to resolve it peacefully.

 

What was it like seeing your character on screen in Captain Phillips?

Capt. Castellano: Seeing myself portrayed was very interesting. I had an opportunity to speak with the actor Yul Vazquez and exchange emails with him. He was most interested in seeing my mannerisms and idiosyncrasies, in order to portray me properly, and I think he did a great job. It was intimidating for me, but from talking to him I found out it was also intimidating for him to portray a real person.

 

What do you remember most about the experience?

Capt. Castellano: Some of the vivid memories that stuck with me were the professionalism and teamwork of my crew and others. It showed the goodness of the American sailor. I had officers and enlisted personnel on the ship who spent hours and hours on station in very hot conditions in order to ensure that Capt. Phillips was safely returned to his family. It was just an incredible team effort.

 

In terms of the rescue mission, my Catholic faith and being a Knight of Columbus played a big role in what I believed in - we wanted to bring Capt. Phillips back home safely to his family and protect the greater good.

 

How do you respond when people commend you for being a hero?

Capt. Castellano: I don't consider myself a hero. I am a professional naval officer. I was out there doing my job. The heroes were the sailors on the Maersk Alabama who were able to use their wits to recapture the ship and safely extract themselves from the situation. The other heroes are our Special Forces. They are titans of our country. A lot of them have made the ultimate sacrifice over the last few years, and I am proud to call them teammates and shipmates.

 

I think all fathers are heroes to their families. Their children and their spouses look up to them. I think our call to heroism every day in our lives is to stand up for what we believe in, to be role models as parents and role models in the community, helping the less fortunate and giving our time back. We live in a great country, with a lot to give. Every day we can show heroic traits just being who we are, Catholic men of faith.

 

Ministry onboard a Cruise Ship offers opportunities for Retreats and Annointing Services

By: Fr. James M. Shaughnessy, SJ
AOS-USA Cruise Ship Priest
Annointing Service onboard  the Royal Caribbean Serenade of the Seas with AOS-USA Cruise Ship Priest Fr. James Shaughnessy.

For years, whenever I went to New York City thought I'd like to walk through a cruise ship and have a tour.  About ten years ago a Jesuit I know put me in touch with the person who handles all the entertainers for one of the major lines. She handles the singers, the dancers, the jugglers, the magicians and the priests. I have been working in academic medical referral centers for the past 30 years and now spend most of my time in critical care, medical, surgical and neurological intensive careunits.I have conversations have with families and patients and staff every day about life and death decisions. In Jesuit terms, I help struggling family members discern the appropriate time to accept when it's the appropriate time to offer comfort rather than more and more machines and tubes and artificial life support.On Sundays and Holy Days of "Opportunity" I have been serving as the Roman Catholic presider at the Federal Prison in Massachusetts with 160 fellows living sentences for non violent crimes at a "camp" and 1200 others "inside" who have made a variety of unfortunate choices, both violent, drug and internet related.

 

                      As a Jesuit, it's in our blood and in our hearts and souls to move aroundbut it's taken me a while to discover my priesthood and my ministry in a different light, on the water. I just returned from my 5th or 6th transatlantic crossing and I'm finally feeling like I know what I'm doing. It finally clicked that these three pastoral venues can inform each other and blend together, for me. I'm no expert, but I've learned a lot from each of these settings about fear and courage and acceptance and healing. All three are highly charged unnatural ways for humans to live.  Being a Jesuit for over 40 years has been one of the more counter cultural ways of living, than many other ways I could have chosen. I am fascinated by other people who find themselves in other, equally unusual  living circumstances.  I've been able to find new life and new faith in living and struggling with the realities of community life and Roman Catholic Church ministry for myselfand I can see it happening for the persons I have come to know in hospitals, and prisons and ships also.  

                     We Americans embrace our freedoms as sacred and we don't do well with giving up our autonomy and independence. People who are ill and hospitalized are terrified of losing their ability to choose, and often mistakenly demand,more and more aggressive treatments that are often painful, futile and expensive.  Guys In  prison know more about what freedom means and what losing control and choice means than we do, but often in ways that remind me of the seriously ill and their families. Both groups come to know and experience in ways they never imagined what having faith in a God who loves them, and companionship with Jesus who will never abandon them, can mean. It's not uncommon for religious faith to finally emerge as vital and personal in ways unimaginable before illness or crisis become part of living and breathing everyday, even for someone who never thought of themselves as religious, before. As a follower of St. Ignatius we , in fact, do see God working everywhere and in everyone.

 

                    People who find themselves in hospitals and prisons and ocean liners have something in common that most of the rest of us complain about. I am reflecting and writing this just after Christmas and part of the American way of celebrating has become a frenzy of parties and shopping. I like both this a  lot, but we all complain about not having the time. We say we want to be more reflective, more prayerful, and more grateful. People in hospitals and prisons and now the ones I meet on ships do not have the same complaint.  There is more than enough time to wait for the illness to heal, the death to come, the sentence to finish and the port to come to sight.  Time means something else and seems bountiful, and both wonderful and burdensome when we are in places where we no longer make the choices and decisions.

 

                    For years I would often think that taking a cruise with not so many stops felt like a retreat experience.   As a Jesuit who has worked in hospitals and now jails for most of my life, I had very few opportunities of preaching every day to the same people. Though I have often helped out at retreats over the years, I always was part of a team and shared responsibility for liturgy, preaching and presentations. I had a Jesuit grad from the south say to me after coming to daily mass for two weeks....."Father, I  feel like I've been on a retreat!"    I grinned and said "you could pay me no greater complement, and I guess we have been.".  Another fellow who was the chief legal counsel for an archdiocese  said, " I've never been on a cruise like this before, and I've been on a lot of them."  When I asked him to explain he said that it was because of me.    He said, " Every day you were talking about and asking us to pray for the people who were serving us and their dignity and the sacrifices they made to leave home. I really hadn't given them much thought before. " As many cruise lines started cutting back on when they would place priests, it became more likely I would only be allowed on longer voyages with fewer stops, more sea days and much deeper waters.   

 

               I decided to offer a retreat on a trans Atlantic three years ago. A fortunate and unplanned coincidence was that the voyage ended in New Orleans. Apparently everyone in New Orleans is Catholic and they all love going to mass because I was honestly overwhelmed with the amount of people who showed up for Eucharist each morning. And the people who come to mass everyday on a ship, on vacation are either "unusual", to be nice....and there are always "those", and then the people who have adult, mature, reasoned faith and who are really running the local churches they attend and manage. When I offered the idea of a retreat on the sea days, based on the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius, many already knew what I was talking about - lots of Jesuit gradsand were intrigued.  I made it clear that we would have Eucharist, then go off to breakfast on our own, then meet back for "points" at 10, find at least an hour in a quiet place to pray and then come back for a communal sharing of what happened at 3.  Each day I take a different meditation from " Praying with St. Ignatius" by ............About two thirds of those who start finish and there are always more retreatants than  books to go around.....10 to 15 each time.

 

                      The prayer is real and the sharing can be intense, after the group finds it's trust. I've had Church lay ministers decide to not always have to say yes, a professional woman ending a sabbatical, people entering retirement looking back, many a widow and widower turn a little more to gratitude from grief. A woman who was a school principal said, "I've never talked about my faith and God in such personal terms, I'm Irish, not like you Americans. This is hard." It wasn't after the fourth day.

  
             Both at the retreat and in my homilies, later in the cruise, when people have already proven their patience and trust I have started to preach about our common aging and fears around that.  I also now mention my own awareness of advancing age and suggest that the days of calling a priest in the middle of the night for last rites is over.  I suggest that a better way for those who want, might be to experience the power of the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick in a more substantial and less dramatic way.  For three or four evenings I invite whoever wants to come to and be anointed to gather at the bow of the ship at sun set. I suggest that I don't require a diagnosis and we are all generally over 60 and days away from intensive medical care, if something happensI remind them that we are a courageous and trusting people, floating over a mile deep water with some decent medical assistance in the infirmary and 4 freezers, if things don't work out. We are vividly reminded of our fragility.  Praying together that God grant us a safe last voyage, with out too many storms or winds, and surrounded by people who love and care for us, as the red sun sets into the ocean seems to make a lot of sense to the hundreds who have come.

 

                I've also started to suggest that the faces of our stateroom attendants and our meal servers look as diverse and colorful as the faces of those who work in skilled nursing facilities and who might offer us hospice care, eventually. I suggest that though we are all afraid of giving up our independence and moving to assisted living, our lives on the ship are exactly what assisted living and accepting care are like.  It's not so bad. We really don't have to be so afraid of our futures and the need for help that sooner or later we will come to accept. I encourage my faithful companions by saying that you all have made good choices in the past that have given you the faith and courage to take long and adventurous trips that make this last phase of our lives more exciting than we expected. There is no reason to fear the future as long as we make prudent, careful and thoughtful choices about the care we want in hospitals and care facilities when we need it.  Lots of time to reflect and pray out there.

 

                 Finally, there is the crew. Last but not least. They are men and women who serve from scores of different countries and they leave behind their wives and husbands and children and parents. Almost all have a dream of a better life and they have the courage and faith to live and work toward that dream. They inspire me with the dignity of their service and their kind patience toward guests who are older, fragile, sometimes grieving and often living with chronic pain or illness. They have a highly developed work ethic and a keen sensitivity toward both the pleasant and the difficult guests. When I look at their faces at Masses, scheduled late at night, I see tired faces of the poor from around the world who have courage and freedom and faith that humbles me. The power of the Eucharist comes alive once again, just as it does in the Hospital and the Prison. It will always be our best way to be grateful and hopeful , no matter what happens or no matter where we find ourselves.

 

Two Years after Costa Concordia, Cruise Ship Safety has Improved, GAO Says
Courtesy: Workboat.com
By: Pamela Glass
January 14, 2014

 

Two years after the Costa Concordia ran aground off the coast of Italy, a new report says that passenger safety and security has improved on cruise ships since the accident. However, there are still lapses in the public reporting of crimes on these megaships.

 

Released Jan. 13 on the second anniversary of the accident that resulted in the death of 32 people, the report by the General Accountability Office found that cruise lines have implemented many new measures to shore up safety and security onboard vessels that visit U.S. ports. Many of these improvements were required by the Cruise Vessel Security and Safety Act (CVSSA) of 2010, including having rail heights of 42 inches and reporting allegations of certain crimes to the FBI.

 

GAO said that 11 of the 15 requirements contained in the law have been implemented, and the remaining are in the works, as they involve developing new technologies to detect a person who has fallen overboard, implementing a video surveillance system to document crimes on a vessel and certifying trainers who teach ship personnel about crime scene preservation.

 

Although the FBI and Coast Guard publish information on reported cruise ship crimes on a website, the GAO said this data has many limitations as it doesn't offer the entire picture about the nature of onboard crimes, how recent they are, and how they are investigated and resolved. The reporting of sexual and physical assaults, which are the leading crimes on cruises, is now required by law but is limited and not always useful to the public, the report said.

 

Following the Costa Concordia accident, the cruise industry, the International Maritime Organization and the Coast Guard took steps to improve passenger safety.

 

The Cruise Lines International Association, which represents over 98 percent of cruise companies in the U.S., identified 10 safety-related policies in 2012 that were adopted by all members by July 2013. These include improvements to vessel passage planning and life jacket stowage. The IMO also adopted a regulation to be effective in January 2015 requiring passengers to participate in safety and evacuation drills before or just after departure rather than within 24 hours of departure.

 

The Coast Guard, the report added, has worked with the industry for several years to plan and hold disaster exercises, including one in April 2013 to practice a mass rescue from a cruise vessel.

 

The report's conclusions were welcomed in Congress, which requested the study last year. "I am pleased that the cruise industry has taken notice and is well on its way to implementing needed changes to safety and security policies on cruise vessels," said Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee.  

 

US Flag Fleet Under Fire
Courtesy: IHS Maritime 360
By: John Gallagher

 

US Flag Fleet Under Fire 
US Flag Fleet Under Fire
 
 
Request from Friend Ships

 


Friend Ships is a Christian humanitarian disaster relief and humanitarian aid organization that utilizes ships and boats in our programs.  We work within the U.S. and throughout the world to deliver humanitarian aid, disaster relief and medical services in times of crisis. We also operate an all-scholarship training program for young adults called "Sea Hawks."

 

The organization is comprised of all-volunteers.   We are often in need of knowledgeable mariners to serve on our ships and boats and to train our crew and students.  For more information, please visit our web site at www.friendships.org or call our headquarters in Lake Charles, Louisiana at 337 433-5022. 

You can also find them at:
http://friendships.org/ 

 

Save Our Ship

 AOS-USA takes this time to remind our members of the wonderful opportunity that exists to save the S/S United States.

To learn more about this ship's proud history and how you can help restore her, please check out her website below:
http://www.ssusc.org/

Other News Items  

 

Catholic Maritime News - Winter 2013 

 

Apostolatus Maris Bulletin N.116 June 2013/III

 

Apostolatus Maris Bulletin N.115 June 2013/II 

 

Catholic Maritime News Spring 2013 No. 72  

 

 Apostolatus Maris Bulletin N.114 March 2013/I 

 

 

Catholic Maritime News Winter 2012 No. 71 

 

Apostolatus Maris Bulletin N.113 2012/III   

 

Apostolatus Maris Bulletin N.112 2012/II  

 

Apostolatus Maris Bulletin April 2012 (111)  

   

2012 Easter Message from the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants 

 

Apostolatus Maris Bulletin December 2011 (110) 

 

Apostolatus Maris Bulletin Sept 2011 (109) 

 

Apostolatus Maris Bulletin July 2011 (108)   

 

Audio Report: No Pirates of the Caribbean - Vatican Radio (December 7, 2011) 

 

Piracy video from Lloyd's List 

 

 

Important Upcoming Events for
AOS USA Members

  


Houston Maritime Ministry Training School
Feb 9-21, 2014
Houston, TX
http://www.venturecd.net/SeafarersCenter.org/Application.htm

AOS-USA Annual Conference
April 29 - May 2, 2014
Corpus Christi, Texas

National Maritime Day
May 22, 2014

National Day of Remembrance and Prayer for Mariners
May 24, 2014
12:10 pm Mass
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
Crypt Church
400 Michigan Ave. N.E.
Washington, DC  20017-1566 
 

May God Bless you with Smooth Sailing throughout your day!

Contact Info
Doreen M. Badeaux
Secretary General
Apostleship of the Sea of the United States of America
1500 Jefferson Drive
Port Arthur, TX  77642-0646
PH:  409-985-4545
FAX:  409-985-5945