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Prayer Requests:
For the repose of the soul of our dear friend and Cruise Ship Priest Member, Fr. Timothy Noel Brien from Wales. Fr. Tim has been a member for many years, serving tirelessly in the cruise ship ministry. He was always diligent in his prayer for the AOS-USA and the entire AOS Family, and attended conferences in Cardiff on our behalf from time to time. Fr. Tim will be greatly missed. Please keep him in your prayers, as he always kept each of us in his.
For Miss Khiem Nguyen, volunteer with the Port Arthur International Seafarers' Center. Khiem was born with heart problems and had a stroke which rendered her unconscious for some time at Christmas time. Recovery has been slow, and she had another surgery this past Monday. We ask you to keep our sweet Khiem, and her family in your prayers!
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 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 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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Join AOS USA Today!
To join AOS USA simply click on the following link:
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The Apostleship of the Sea Widens its Vision
Seafarer welfare international network, Apostleship of the Sea (AoS), is reaching out in new directions in order to better assist seafarers, many of whom work in difficult or challenging conditions.
Not only do seafarers face challenges at sea due to extreme weather conditions and long periods of time away from their families, many of them face perils posed by piracy, exploitation and abuse, or criminals involved in trafficking.
Also, current global economic shifts mean that there are new shipping routes and the need has arisen to deal with the merging of companies to maximize efficiency and profit.
That's why AoS recently held a Regional Coordinators Meeting in Rome focusing on how to move forward as a global organization in addressing issues related to seafarer welfare amid existing financial constraints within the industry.
So, while one of the prime concerns for its members is the pastoral care of seafarers and their families, AoS does not neglect to address issues such as education, training, health - all of which are strongly impacted by global trends, developments and what promise to be the main issues for the maritime industry in the coming years.
That's why one of the speakers invited to attend the AoS conference was V. Ships President Roberto Giorgi, who explains that his Company supplies ship management and related marine services to the global shipping industry.
Giorgi explained to Vatican Radio's Linda Bordoni that as an international Ship Management Company, V.Ships has offices around the world, about 30,000 people on board the vessels and over 1.000 on shore. He explained that V.Ships is a virtual ship owner in the sense that it takes on the responsibilities and the work of a ship owner in operating a ship. So, Giorgi explains "We put a crew on board, we take care of the insurance, of the maintenance, of safety, security and so on" shouldering all the costs of the ships on behalf of the owner of the vessel.
Giorgi says he was happy to be invited to the Conference where he expressed his ideas on the future of shipping and illustrated the trends of shipping today.
Shipping - Roberto Giorgi says - "is a very cyclical business, but we are in a changing situation and it is very important for an organization like AoS to understand the future, vis-a-vis the economy of shipping and where there will be more trade in the future. This will help the organization see where they need to upgrade their system and their service, in particular areas of the world, he said.
No doubt - he says - "shipping is moving from West to East so there will be more importance in the ports in Asia. But we must not forget what we are doing today in Europe, Africa, and in North and South America".
Giorgi says his company's business is people. "Our assets are the people on board and ashore, so for us, a ship management company, the human element is the most important element of all". The ship owner owns the asset, but we own the spirit of the people."
"We need to motivate them on a daily basis, we need to be close to them, and we need to give them prospects for development and a career. And we also need to make sure in the future the skills and the competences that we have in the organization today are not lost" he said.
Of the shift from West to East, Giorgi says "today the biggest movement of commodities is definitely between South America and Australia and South Africa to Asia: mainly China and India. These are the locomotives of the global economy" he said.
"We hope that Asia will continue its growth because if this continues Europe and North America will come out of the recession...."
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State of the Union Address Links Jobs to Waterways
Courtesy: Workboat.com
By: Pamela Glass
January 30, 2014
As the president's annual state of the union address to the nation was the hot topic this week in Washington, I had penciled it in as my weekly blog topic. My expectations were low that he'd say anything vaguely important about the workboat, maritime or waterways community. After all, like presidents before him, he had never included water transportation as a priority in previous SOTU speeches.
As these things go, SOTUs allow the sitting president to speak unfiltered to the American public, offering his views of where the country is going, how he's going to fix what's wrong, and what his priorities are for the new year. Tuesday night's speech came at an especially volatile time for President Obama, as Americans have grown uneasier about his leadership and Congress seems even less willing to cooperate with his agenda.
I had already decided what to write. I would focus on what the president didn't say in the speech, that he was yet again snubbing or ignoring water transportation, the merchant marine and the bad state of the nation's waterways system, asking how he could be so shortsighted. Nothing new. Another story of missed opportunities.
But to my great surprise, I heard him utter the words waterways and ports. I snapped to action and immediately went for my notebook. "Oh, boy," I thought, "I might actually have a story here!"
Obama challenged Congress to approve the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) by this summer. A WRDA bill, which sets new policies for waterways funding and project development, hasn't been approved by Congress since 2007, and policy changes are sorely needed to set on track a maintenance, construction and repair program for the nation's aging locks and dams. The president linked WRDA to jobs.
He suggested that closing tax loopholes could pay for such domestic improvements, saying, "we can take the money we save from this transition to tax reform to create jobs rebuilding our roads, upgrading our ports, unclogging our commutes - because in today's global economy, first-class jobs gravitate to first-class infrastructure."
Obama added: "We'll need Congress to protect more than three million jobs by finishing transportation and waterways bills this summer. This can happen."
Interest groups representing ports and waterways were quick to send out press releases praising the president for his support.
But it remains to be seen if Obama's words will prod congressional action. There is already a lot of traction for WRDA in Congress, where the bill has passed the House and Senate, and is now being negotiated by a conference committee. Things there have slowed a bit because of disagreements over a few provisions. Observers hope that it can be finished much earlier than the summer, because the later it gets, the greater the chances that WRDA will get sidetracked by midterm election politics.
And that could cause another unwanted delay, while the country's inland infrastructure continues to deteriorate.
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US Department of Transportation Provides $7 Million for Maritime Education
Courtesy:Maritime Administration (MARAD)
February 2014
Contact: Kim Strong Tel: 202-366-5807
As the president's annual state of the union address to the nation was the hot topic this week in Washington, I had penciled it in as my weekly blog topic. My expectations were low that he'd say anything vaguely important about the workboat, maritime or waterways community. After all, like presidents before him, he had never included water transportation as a priority in previous SOTU speeches.
As these things go, SOTUs allow the sitting president to speak unfiltered to the American public, offering his views of where the country is going, how he's going to fix what's wrong, and what his priorities are for the new year. Tuesday night's speech came at an especially volatile time for President Obama, as Americans have grown uneasier about his leadership and Congress seems even less willing to cooperate with his agenda.
I had already decided what to write. I would focus on what the president didn't say in the speech, that he was yet again snubbing or ignoring water transportation, the merchant marine and the bad state of the nation's waterways system, asking how he could be so shortsighted. Nothing new. Another story of missed opportunities.
But to my great surprise, I heard him utter the words waterways and ports. I snapped to action and immediately went for my notebook. "Oh, boy," I thought, "I might actually have a story here!"
Obama challenged Congress to approve the Water Resources Development Act (WRDA) by this summer. A WRDA bill, which sets new policies for waterways funding and project development, hasn't been approved by Congress since 2007, and policy changes are sorely needed to set on track a maintenance, construction and repair program for the nation's aging locks and dams. The president linked WRDA to jobs.
He suggested that closing tax loopholes could pay for such domestic improvements, saying, "we can take the money we save from this transition to tax reform to create jobs rebuilding our roads, upgrading our ports, unclogging our commutes - because in today's global economy, first-class jobs gravitate to first-class infrastructure."
Obama added: "We'll need Congress to protect more than three million jobs by finishing transportation and waterways bills this summer. This can happen."
Interest groups representing ports and waterways were quick to send out press releases praising the president for his support.
But it remains to be seen if Obama's words will prod congressional action. There is already a lot of traction for WRDA in Congress, where the bill has passed the House and Senate, and is now being negotiated by a conference committee. Things there have slowed a bit because of disagreements over a few provisions. Observers hope that it can be finished much earlier than the summer, because the later it gets, the greater the chances that WRDA will get sidetracked by midterm election politics.
And that could cause another unwanted delay, while the country's inland infrastructure continues to deteriorate.
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Catholic Seafarers' Center Provides A Lifeline To Sailors During Their Hours In Seattle
Courtesy: KPLU 88.5
February 7, 2014
(Editor's Note: AOS-USA commends AOS-USA Members: Fr. Tony Haycock, Deacon Michael Riggio, and Mr. Oscar Diaz for their great work for the People of the Sea!)
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Father Tony Haycock of the Catholic Seafarers' Center demonstrates the kind of engine order telegraph found on ships.
Credit Justin Steyer / KPLU
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These days, Seattle's Belltown neighborhood is dominated by wine bars and night clubs. But on one block of First Avenue, there's a living reminder of the city's dependence on the waterfront. Outside a two-story corner building, a few doors down from a Starbucks, is a vertical sign that reads "Catholic Seamen's Club."
These days, the place is known as the Catholic Seafarers' Center and it's run by the Archdiocese of Seattle. But for decades, the center has provided a lifeline to sailors, whether they're here for just a few hours or months.
Oscar Diaz is one of the people meeting the needs of those sailors. Originally from Chile, he's familiar with life at sea; he used to be a sailor himself. But about 20 years ago, he started volunteering for the center and now has a paying gig driving a van to pick up sailors from big container ships at the port and take them where they need to go.
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Oscar Diaz shuttles sailors from the port on shopping excursions
Credit Ashley Gross / KPLU
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On a recent day, he was juggling cellphone calls from different ships. A crew of Sri Lankan, Malaysian and Filipino sailors wanted to get picked up from a terminal near the West Seattle bridge. Another pair of Filipinos arrived on a different ship. Luckily, all of them agreed on where they want to go first: Best Buy.
They piled into the van, ready for a few precious hours ashore. They'd been away from their families for months, with only each other for company. The sailors set out for their shopping excursion with lists of things to buy for fellow crew members who don't have visas to enter the U.S. and have to stay onboard.
Changing Times
In the 20 years Diaz has been working at the center, he's seen a lot of changes. These days, it's not as busy.
"There are fewer ships and they don't stay so long," Diaz said. "They have faster and bigger cranes to take care of the cargo, and that's the reason."
That means the sailors head straight to the stores instead of stopping at the Seafarers' Center in Belltown.
The place used to be bustling with sailors using computers and watching soccer on TV. Now, it's showing its age. Yellowed newspaper clippings hang from the wall. A big map of the world still shows the Soviet Union.
"Unfortunately, you know, we're empty like this a lot of the time," said Father Tony Haycock, port chaplain at the center. "There used to be, years ago, seafarers here a good bit of the time."
Haycock is originally from Liverpool, England, but he's been here so long, he's lost track of time. The best he can pinpoint it is "over 20 years."
Nowhere Else To Turn
But even though the center itself is often empty, there's still plenty for Haycock and the center's director, Deacon Michael Riggio, to do. They're busy in a different way. They're the ones keeping an eye out for people who have nowhere else to turn.
Riggio describes a particularly dramatic example when the Coast Guard two years ago quarantined a ship that was unseaworthy. The six crew members from Central America were stuck onboard because they didn't have the right documents.
"They were trapped," Riggio said. "To get a good feel for what it's like, it's about a 20-foot-tall cyclone fence with concertina barbed wire on top and a locked gate in a very confined area at Pier 91, in the shadow of the Space Needle in downtown Seattle right next to the massive cruise ships."
After a while, the Coast Guard allowed the Catholic Seafarers' Center to take the men out of quarantine for meals, including Thanksgiving dinner. Eventually the owner scraped together enough money to fix the boat and they set sail for Mexico. Riggio says speaking up for sailors is a big part of what they do.
"Even though there are modern laws to protect them, there's still a lot of stuff that happens on ships that we like to be present so that we can hear about it and intervene if necessary," he said.
A Reminder Of Seattle's Maritime Legacy
And Haycock says it's their job to look out for the people who get forgotten in the hustle and bustle of our tech- and aerospace-dominated economy.
"People see the ships, you look out and see the ships coming by, going back and forth," Haycock said. "You don't realize there are people on there."
They're people like Marlon, who only wished to be identified by his first name, and Randy Yoldi from the Philippines. After a quick shopping trip at Seattle's Northgate Mall, facilitated by Diaz, they looked over what they managed to buy in just one hour. Most of it was for their friends on board who couldn't go shopping because they lacked visas.
"Hanes T-shirts, shoes, Victoria's Secret, soap for their wives, these candies," Yoldi described as he peered into his shopping bags.
'Oh, Yeah, I Miss Them'
Inside Best Buy, another Filipino sailor named Joselito Nollaga stood eyeing cell phones and tablets. He said he'd like to buy one for his sons back home. He'd gone seven months without seeing them. A salesman told him the one Nollaga would like is out of stock; the store could order it for him, but by then his ship would be long gone.
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Joselito Nollaga shows a picture of his family.
Credit Ashley Gross / KPLU
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Nollaga says he's able to call his sons once or twice a week from the ship. They're 9 and 10 years old. It seems foolish to even ask: Does he miss them?
"Oh yeah, I miss them," he said, pulling out a weathered photo from his wallet.
He's been working as a sailor since before they were born. It pays a lot more than rice farming or growing bananas, but he doesn't want his sons to copy him. He'd like his older son to become a lawyer or doctor, if Nollaga can afford to pay for his schooling.
"My second wants to become a pilot," Nollaga said with a laugh. "I don't know if I can afford [it]."
He earns comparatively good money, about $2,000 a month - more than four times what an average Filipino family earns. But the tradeoff is being far from his family. He was at sea when his father died and missed the funeral.
Still, if he's feeling lonely here, 6,000 miles from home, there's a group of Catholics looking out for him in a nondescript building in Belltown.
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Two Important Video Interviews on the US Merchant Marine.
Maritime TV In-Depth Interview with Acting Maritime Administrator Paul "Chip" Jaenichen
Tuesday, February 12, 2014, Recorded at the U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration, Washington, D.C.
On June 4, Deputy Maritime Administrator Paul "Chip" Jaenichen was named Acting Maritime Administrator. He will serve in this role until the appointment and confirmation of a new Maritime Administrator. Acting Maritime Administrator Jaenichen has been with the U.S. Department of Transportation, Maritime Administration since July 2012 when he was appointed Deputy Maritime Administrator by President Obama.
On Tuesday, February 12, 2014, Maritime TV's Dave Gardy interviewed Mr. Jaenichen at MARAD headquarters in Washington. D.C. The full video interview and links to individual question responses are included here in the on-demand archives.
See more at:
New National Maritime Strategy: Sean Connaughton, Lee Kincaid and John Cartner
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Schools resources on the life of seafarers launched
Courtesy: AOS Great Britain
29 January 2014
A new range of resources for schools to introduce children to shipping and the lives of seafarers has been launched. Written by teachers and produced by the seafarers' charity Apostleship of the Sea (AoS), in association with Ten Ten Theatre, the resources are aimed at KS2 and KS3 students. The downloadable resources include lesson plans and assemblies that are both easy to use and engaging for students. Powerpoints and teacher guidance notes are included. Each lesson follows a simple structure and includes clear objectives and learning outcomes. It has been designed around the national curriculum and gives students the opportunity to learn about the world of shipping and seafarers and how the Apostleship of the Sea is helping to support seafarers worldwide. John Green, AoS Director of Development said, 'the subject of the sea and the lives of seafarers touches many aspects of the national curriculum and is a fundamental part of this country's heritage', he continued 'these attractive and engaging resources, written by teachers, will capture the excitement of the sea and the lives of seafarers, a world that is often so close to children from seaside trips and ferry crossings, but relatively unknown to them.' The resources were produced in association with Ten Ten Theatre. Ten Ten aim to communicate the richness of the Church's experience in human relationships and engaging with the modern world. Martin O'Brien, Artistic Director of Ten Ten, said he was 'proud' to be collaborating with the Apostleship of the Sea and 'bringing closer this hidden world and work of the church within it to children and young people.' To download these resources visit http://www.apostleshipofthesea.org.uk/resources-schools |
Costa Concordia Two Years Later
Courtesy: Workboat.com
By: Workboat Staff
February 4, 2014
This video filmed by drones in January shows how little of the Costa Concordia wreckage is above the water now that the ship has been righted.
 | | Costa Concordia as it looks today (January 2014) |
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City of Adelaide clipper ship receives blessings from Anglican Bishop and Catholic seafarers' chaplain
Courtesy: Herald Sun News
by Jill Pengelley
16 February 2014
 | | The historic clipper the City of Adelaide is blessed. Picture: Greg Higgs Source: News Limited |
ADMIRERS of the City of Adelaide clipper whipped out their smartphones at Port Adelaide today to capture an iconic piece of South Australia's history.
It was in sharp contrast to any charcoal sketch which may have recorded her maiden voyage, in 1864, from the docks in London. At Dock One at the Port today, the world's oldest surviving clipper was welcomed and blessed by Anglican Bishop Tim Harris and Catholic seafarers' chaplain Brian Angus. Mr Harris said the City of Adelaide had probably received a blessing before she began her 23 trips bringing settlers and supplies to the South Australian colony. "(The ship) represents something very significant about who we are, our history and our roots," he told those gathered. "Lord of the oceans, of journeys through storms and days of full sail, we pray you will bless this project and bless this clipper. "City of Adelaide, we welcome you. May God bless this historic icon and all that she represents." MORE: 12 things you didn't know about the City of Adelaide The 450-tonne vessel, which arrived from the UK earlier this month, will remain on a barge until her final home is determined. City of Adelaide Preservation Trust director Peter Christopher said he hoped it would be only a few months before the public could board the clipper, which still had its decks. About $6 million had been spent rescuing and transporting the ship to Adelaide and at least $500,000 more would need to be raised to establish it in its permanent home, he said. Mr Christopher said "losing such an icon would have been a tragedy for the world''. Between 1864 and 1886, the iron and wood ship brought 889 settlers and thousands of tonnes of cargo to SA. About 250 people attended the blessing ceremony, which began with bagpipes and closed with the Lord's Prayer and a walk on the barge which holds the clipper. |
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Beware of Scam E-Mails Claiming to Be with the AOS!
Dear Friends,
Once again, some of our members and AOS Colleauges have received messages from scam artists claiming to be Fr. John M. Lopeti, with AOS in the Tonga Islands, and Father Noel Mullin with AOS Bristol. Both claim to have money to share.
Once again, if you have been involved with AOS ministry, or any maritime ministry, you will know that we are always in need of funds. We do not have millions of dollars to give away!
And if we did have those funds, the funds would go directly to services for mariners.
Please do not be fooled. If an emails seems too good to be true.....it
probably is!
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Captain blamed in Bounty sinking
Courtesy: Workboat.com By: Kathy Bergren Smith
February 11, 2014
A year after the heartbreaking hearings into the sinking of the replica tall ship Bounty, the NTSB issued its report blaming the incident on the decision of the captain to sail into Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. I attended the hearings conducted jointly by the NTSB and Coast Guard in Portsmouth, Va. It was an almost surreal proceeding at times, as young crewmembers described the repairs made to the vessel before setting off for Florida and then the horrific hours when all hell broke loose. The investigators pressed the crew as to why no one questioned the decision to sail from New London, Conn., on Oct. 25, 2012, while, as one crewmember related, "lots of us were getting calls and texts from our families" as they became apprised of the impending storm. They met on deck just hours before leaving and Capt. Robin Walbridge offered the option of staying behind with no hard feelings, but no offer to cover transportation or future employment either. He told the crew that the ship "was safer at sea." That said, one of the more eerie remarks during the testimony was made by a crewmember that was studying the AIS on the nav station as they passed the busy waters off of New York Harbor. He said the normal cluttered screen was blank. No kidding, every ship, fishing boat, tug and barge, not to mention tall ship was safely holed up having heard the same forecast as Walbridge. The NTSB report states it succinctly: "The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the sinking of tall ship Bounty was the captain's reckless decision to sail the vessel into the well forecasted path of Hurricane Sandy, which subjected the aging vessel and the inexperienced crew to conditions from which the vessel could not recover. Contributing to the sinking was the lack of effective safety oversight by the vessel organization." The Coast Guard has not issued its report, but it is clear that some soul-searching may be in order there. The Bounty was a rule beater. She was a 50-year-old wooden boat built as a movie set. She was not a sail-training vessel. There was no shoreside support to speak of. The organization that owned her was essentially a contractor on Long Island whose secretary was the de facto port captain. The Bounty was a dockside attraction. Therefore, she carried no Coast Guard COI. That means that since she carried no passengers, she was not subject to the drydocking and inspection regime as the other vessels in the tall ship fleet. Capt. Walbridge perished along with another crewmember, and was spoken of respectfully by his surviving crew at the hearing. They trusted him with their lives but his seamanship and cavalier attitude was no match for the wrath of Sandy.
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Excursion Vessels in Polar Waters
Courtesy: MaritimeProfessional.Com
By: Dennis Bryant
February 11, 2014
The world was recently witness to a multi-national effort to rescue the Russian excursion vessel Akademik Shokalskiy after it was beset in wind-driven ice off the coast of Antarctica. The French supply vessel L'Astrolabe turned back from its relief effort. The Chinese research vessel Xue Long (Snow Dragon) got within about six kilometers before it too was beset. The Australian research vessel Aurora Australis stayed about ten kilometers away to avoid the same fate, but eventually was able to carry the Russian vessel's 52 passengers to Australia. The US Coast Guard polar icebreaker Polar Star was diverted to relieve the Russian and Chinese vessels, but those vessels were able to escape under their own power when the wind shifted, opening up the ice.
Considerable time and effort was devoted to the rescue project, funds were expended, and various research projects were put on hold. No lives were lost and there was no pollution. The question arises, though, whether the Akademik Shokalskiy should have been in those polar waters at the very beginning of the Antarctic summer.
The ship was built in Finland in 1982 as an ice-strengthened oceanographic research vessel. In 1998, it was refurbished to serve as a combination research and expedition vessel in polar waters. Although at least one cruise line booking service provider states that the Akademik Shokalskiy has been ice-classed as "AS", research has been unable to find any classification society or other entity that uses such designation.
Records of the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, with which the vessel has been classed since entering into service, does not use an "AS" classification, but appears to indicate that the Akademik Shokalskiy has been assigned ice category mark "KM UL1", which is approximately equivalent to Finnish ice class "IA Super" (depending on engine output), which is equivalent to IACS ice class notation "PC6".
The IMO Polar Code, which is not currently mandatory, indicates that Polar Class PC 6 is assigned to vessels capable of summer/autumn operation in medium first-year ice which may include old ice inclusions. Based on the very limited information available, it is difficult to come to any definitive conclusion regarding the wisdom of this particular voyage by the Akademik Shokalskiy. It is apparent, though, that excursion vessels should only enter polar waters (Arctic or Antarctic) if they are constructed, maintained, manned, and operated for navigation in these extreme conditions.
We have witnessed in recent years a number of marine casualties involving excursion vessels in polar waters. So far, there have been no lives lost, but only due to amazing good fortune. An excursion vessel in the Antarctic was holed when it collided with hard ice. Fortunately, a nearby vessel was able to rescue all passengers and crew before the excursion vessel sank. Another excursion vessel grounded in the Arctic and waited a week before relief arrived. Fortunately, the weather was good during that entire period.
It is time for the Polar Code to be made mandatory and for cruise operators to carefully examine the vessels that they use to carry well-heeled passengers on these exotic trips. Personal photographs of penguins and polar bears are not worth the risks involved in dispatching ill-founded ships into harm's way and prospective passengers are generally unable to determine the stoutness of the vessels being used.
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New $1.4M Port of Albany seafarers' center dedicated
Courtesy: The Record News
By: Lauren Halligan
February 9, 2014
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The Rev. William G. Hempel, left, chaplain of the Albany Maritime Ministry, smiles Sunday after Port of Albany General Manager Richard Hendrick names the new Seafarers Center after Hempel at the Port of Albany in Albany. J.S. CARRAS - THE RECORD
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ALBANY >> Each year, thousands of sailors from all over the globe seek respite from the job's perils and drudgery at the Port of Albany.
At the Seafarers Center, run by the Albany Maritime Ministry, sea travelers are met with great welcome and hospitality. Now that welcome is warmer, as sailors are met with a brand new Seafarers Center, located at 109 Smith Blvd. in Albany.
The new center is part of a comprehensive improvement and upgrade of the port. Although the space is smaller than the former site, it is warm, clean and stocked with necessities and some luxuries.
"It's a wonderful thing that the port is able to include in this new complex," said Richard Hendrick, Port of Albany general manager.
The new building cost $1.4 million. A federal grant funded $750,000 of the endeavor, and the remainder was met through port funds. The building also houses the security center for the port and Federal Marine Terminals.
A dedication and opening ceremony was held Sunday at the new Seafarers Center for volunteers and guests to celebrate the work needed in the making of the new facility a reality.
Prayers were led by the Rev. William Hempel, the Seafarers Center's chaplain, and Rev. James Kane from the Commission of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany, who blessed the new facility.
The building was dedicated in Hempel's name.
"Rev. Hempel puts his heart and soul into the world travelers that visit this port, and we're honored to be able to name it in his honor," Hendrick said.
For 20 years, the Albany Maritime Ministry has been welcoming sailors who work on the Hudson River as they arrive at the Port of Albany. The ministry is a volunteer, nonprofit organization.
The ministry's mission has been to serve seafarers' spiritual, personal, family and transportation needs. At the center, sailors can call home, email and video chat with loved ones. Volunteers transport seafarers to local stores in the ministry van. From caring for ill visitors to helping them find odds and end needed on their journey,
"It's everything in between," Hempel said.
Religious services and counseling also are provided as requested.
The center welcomes approximately 2,000 sailors yearly, Hempel said. The center is staffed whenever there is a ship expected to be in port. About 100 vessels are served per year.
The volunteers are often sailors' first contact with Americans.
"We become the face for New York, and the for United States," Hempel said.
Assembly member John McDonald, whose district encompasses the Port of Albany, attended the dedication Sunday. At the ceremony, the annual Spirit of the Port award for 2013 was presented to Bernard Smith of Delmar for his significant contributions to the mission of the Seafarers Center. Smith has been working with the center for about five years.
Smith said appreciative sailors often tell him Albany is the friendliest city they've visited. As an ex-sailor, Smith knows the feeling of being in a town where nothing is familiar.
"That's why I help them out," Smith said.
The Rev. Richard Leskovar also was recognized as the Spirit of the Port award recipient for 2014. Leskovar, a member of the ministry board, has also been involved for five years.
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Watch: Cruise Ship Cut Into Two for Extension
Courtesy: Marine Insight
Cruise ship Balmoral, originally named Norwegian Crown, went through an incredible refit process wherein engineers carved out a section before inserting it in between the two sections.  | | Cruise Ship timelapse - Extension of Balmoral at Blohm+Voss |
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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
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