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Prayer Requests:
For the repose of the Soul of Fr Kenneth Wolnowski, AOS-USA Cruise Ship Priest. Fr. Ken was just with us at the AOS-USA Annual Conference. He passed away suddenly just a few weeks ago. Please keep his family and friends and church family in your prayers.
For the repose of the Soul of Mrs. Margaret McShea, Mother of Capt. George P. McShea, Jr, AOS-USA President & Mariner Member. Mrs. McShea passed the day after Capt. McShea returned home from the Dedication of the roundel of Our Lady Star of the Sea at the National Shrine. He and his family appreciate the prayers of the AOS Family.
For the repose of the Soul of Fr. Gary Padgett's Mother. Fr. Padgett is a Cruise Ship Priest Member and was home between cruises when his mother passed after a long illness. He was thankful to be home when she passed, and asks for the prayers of the AOS Family for her and for his family.
For Msgr Michael Andreano, AOS-USA Cruise Ship Priest Member, who recently had surgery for a ruptured diverticulum. He appreciates your prayers.
For Fr. Anthony May, AOS-USA Cruise Ship Priest Member who will be having knee surgery this summer. He appreciates your prayers!
For Fr Jim Schiffer, AOS-USA Cruise Ship Priest Member who asks for prayers as his Meieniers disease has caused multiple health issues lately. He appreciates your prayers.
AOS PRAYER
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy upon all Seafarers.
(1 Our Father)
(Hail Mary)
Our Lady, Star of the Sea, pray for us.
St. Peter, pray for us.
St. Andrew, pray for us.
Lord save us, we perish.
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Join AOS USA Today!
To join AOS USA simply click on the following link:
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AOS/USCCB Website:
Some went down to the sea in ships, doing business on the great waters; they saw the deeds of the Lord, his wondrous works in the deep. (Psalm 107:23-24)
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Celebrating Sea Sunday &
The Day of the Seafarer
Dear Friends, We wish to encourage everyone to celebrate The Day of the Seafarer on June 25 and Sea Sunday, on July 12. For ideas on celebrating the Day of the Seafarer, click here to download a handy "Took Kit" from the IMO: Day of the Seafarer Tool Kit For ideas and materials for Sea Sunday, click the following website: http://www.seasunday.org/about-sea-sunday These are excellent opportunities to shed a spotlight on our ministry. So let's celebrate! And please be sure to send us a photo or two, and a couple of paragraphs about your event. We'd love to share it in the e-news. Your ideas may help inspire others! Wishing each of you a blessed & relaxing weekend! Doreen M. Badeaux
Secretary General
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Message from the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care for Migrants and Itinerant People
Dear friends,
Please find enclosed the Sea Sunday Message for 2015. I would like to ask your cooperation to disseminate it not only within the Apostleship of the Sea but in the maritime world at large. If it is necessary, please feel free to translate it in national or local languages.
Sea Sunday is a day set aside in the Church's calendar to remember seafarers and to pray for them, their families and those who serve them. This celebration started in 1975 when the Apostleship of the Sea, the Mission to Seafarers and the Sailors' Society decided to have a day in which the contributions of seafarers to the world economy would be recognized. I would also like to encourage all AOS chaplains and volunteers to organize Sea Sunday activities and celebrations to express our gratitude to the seafarers for their life of sacrifices and increase awareness on their need of assistance and protection. May Mary, Star of the Sea, continue to sustain and protect your maritime ministry. Yours sincerely in Christ, Antonio Maria Cardinal Vegliņ President X Joseph Kalathiparambil Secretary
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PONTIFICAL COUNCIL FOR THE PASTORALCARE FOR MIGRANTS AND ITINERANT PEOPLE
Sea Sunday Message(12th July 2015)
To transport goods and products around the world, the global economy deeply rely on the maritime industry supported by a workforce of around 1.2 million seafarers, who at sea and in the oceans frequently facing the strong and powerful forces of nature, are managing ships of any kind and dimension. As ports are built far away from the cities and because of the fast turnaround in loading and unloading the cargo, the crews sailing the ships are like "invisible" people. As individuals we do not acknowledge the importance and the benefits that the maritime profession brings to our life and we become aware of their work and sacrifices only when disasters strike. In spite of the technological development that makes life on board more comfortable and easier communicating with their loved ones, the seafarers are forced to spend long months in a restricted space, away from their families. Restrictive and unjust regulations often limit the shore leave when in port and the continuous threat of piracy in many sea routes add stress while sailing. We are still confident that the ratification and coming into force of the Maritime Labor Convention 2006 by a growing number of countries, accompanied by effective inspections by flag States will result in a tangible improvement of the labor and working conditions on board of all ships. The present day with the situation of war, violence and political instability in several countries , a new phenomenon has been affecting the shipping industry. Since last year, alongside with the coast guards and the naval forces of Italy, Malta and European Union, the merchant vessels transiting in the Mediterranean Sea have been actively involved in what is the daily occurrence of rescuing thousands and thousands of migrants trying to reach mainly the coasts of Italy in any kind of overcrowded and substandard crafts . Since time immemorial seafarers have fulfilled the obligation to rescue people in distress at sea under any conditions. However, as it has been stressed by other maritime organizations, for the merchant vessels rescuing migrants at sea remain a health, safety and security risk for seafarers'. Commercial ships are designed to transport goods (containers, oil, gas, etc.) and all the facilities (accommodation, kitchen, bathroom, lavatories, etc.) are custom-made for the limited number of crew members on board. For these reasons merchant vessels are not equipped to provide assistance to a large number of migrants. Seafarers are professionally qualified in their work and trained to handle a number of emergency situations but rescuing hundreds of men, women and children acting franticly while trying to reach the safety of the ship, is something that no training course in maritime school has prepared them for. Furthermore, the physical effort in doing everything is conceivable to rescue as many persons as possible and sometimes the view of numerous lifeless bodies floating on the sea, are a traumatic experience which leaves the crews exhausted and psychologically distressed needing specific psychological and spiritual support. On Sea Sunday as Catholic Church we would like to express our appreciation to the seafarers in general for their fundamental contribution to the international trade. This year in particular, we would like to recognize the great humanitarian effort done by the crews of merchant vessels that without hesitation, sometimes risking their own life, have engaged in many rescuing operations saving thousands of migrants lives. Our gratitude goes also to all the chaplains and volunteers of the Apostleship of the Sea for their daily commitment in serving the people of the sea; their presence in the docks is the sign of the Church in their midst and shows the compassionate and merciful face of Christ. In conclusion, while we are appealing to the governments in Europe and in the countries of origin of migration flows, as well as to the international organizations to cooperate in searching for a durable and definite political solution to the instability in those countries, we would like also to call for more resources to be committed not only for search and rescue missions but also to prevent the trafficking and exploitation of persons escaping from a condition of conflict and poverty. Cardinal Antonio Maria Veglio President +Joseph KalathiparambilSecretary Click the links below for the message in various languages.Sea Sunday Message 2015 - EnglishSea Sunday Message 2015 - Spanish Sea Sunday Message 2015 - FrenchSea Sunday Message 2015 - Italian
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Apostleship of the Sea - Great Britain releases Sea Sunday 2015 video for parishes
Courtesy: AOS - Great Britain
10 June 2015
Catholic seafarers' charity Apostleship of the Sea (AoS) has produced a three-minute video clip for churches in time for this year's Sea Sunday celebration on July 12.
The video shows how the Church, through AoS, cares for and supports seafarers who bring goods and services to people all over the world.
Shot by freelance journalist and producer Harriet Grecian, the film features AoS' Felixstowe port chaplain Sister Marian Davey meeting seafarers on one of her regular ship visits.
Sr Marian says, "Up to 95% of everything that comes into the UK comes in through the hands of seafarers. They are employed on contracts for up to six, nine and sometimes 12 months, which means being away from their families for that time.
"As chaplains we make sure they remain connected to their loved ones at home by providing them telephone cards and internet access."
Sr Marian says in addition to seafarers' practical needs, AoS also looks after their spiritual needs.
"Our work is about sustaining the individual at many different levels. In Felixstowe we have a monthly Mass at the seafarers' centre, attended by a group of local supporters.
"During that Mass we bring requests from the seafarers and place them on the altar. We get many requests, including prayers for their health and for the health of their families back home.
"When a ship comes into port, everyone else focuses on the cargo but my main focus as an AoS port chaplain is always on the people who carry the cargo - the seafarers," says Sr Marian.
The video can be viewed below.
Churches are encouraged to share the video link on their parish newsletters and websites in the run up to Sea Sunday. Sea Sunday is a day the Catholic Church prays for and remembers seafarers. It is also the main fundraising event for AoS to ensure its ministry supporting seafarers is able to continue. Please give generously to your parish's Sea Sunday collection.
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Sailing Singlehanded: Maine Maritime Training Ship Rescues North Atlantic Sailor
Courtesy: GCaptain
11 June 2015
Maine Maritime Academy's Training Ship State of Maine responded to a distress call yesterday morning in the North Atlantic. The training ship was on a homeward course when the vessel was contacted by the U.S. Coast Guard RCC ( VIA AMVER) about a nearby sailing vessel that was taking on water. The vessel, SV Prodigal, was battered by recent storms, and her Captain, Michael Hurley, was sailing singlehanded. The State of Maine was approximately 520 nautical miles SSE of Halifax, Nova Scotia and approximately 29 nautical miles from the imperiled sailboat when it changed course to assist the vessel. 1 ½ hours after the initial call students aboard the State of Maine prepared to render assistance by checking the fast rescue boats, fastening a cargo net to the main deck, and rigging a jacob's ladder. Once on location the State of Maine maneuvered alongside and within a couple of hours, Captain Hurley was able to call his wife to let her know he was safe. "I'm proud of our students, officers, crew and staff, who were put to the test today," said President William J. Brennan. "Please thank Captain Eadie and all hands for me on a job well done." "Students today got a first-hand look at near disaster," said Nate Gandy, Commandant of Midshipmen and Maine Maritime Academy alumnus. "Collaboration, problem-solving, skill, and luck all conspired to bring about a positive outcome, and we are thankful for a safe rescue for Captain Hurley." The Training Ship State of Maine is due to arrive in Portland, Maine on Saturday, June 13, 2015. The educational cruise will continue on to Cobh, Ireland; Norfolk, Virginia; and Searsport, Maine, ending in Castine on Monday, July 27. To follow the cruise, visit http://mainemaritime.edu/tssom-training-cruise-blog/ The State of Maine sails under the direction of Captain Leslie Eadie, of Brewer, Maine.The 500-foot, 16,000-ton Training Ship State of Maine, originally commissioned as the USNS Tanner, served as a Navy oceanographic research vessel before being converted in 1997 to accommodate the training needs of the college. The fourth vessel to bear the name State of Maine, the ship is a modern, technologically advanced training vessel.
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Speed, Comms Implicated in Houston Channel Collision
Courtesy: Maritime Executive
9 June 2015
(Editors' Note: Recognize the voice? It's our very own, Capt. R. Jon Furukawa reporting for the NTSB.)
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Drilling moratorium was necessary
Courtesy: Workboat Magazine
By: Ken Hocke
11 June 2015
I'm now convinced of something I've long suspected. The post-Deepwater Horizon moratorium on the issuance of new drilling permits was the right move to make. Now before some of you label me a communist sympathizer, let's look at the facts.
In April 2010, the Macondo well beneath the Deepwater Horizon blew out and exploded, killing 11 and resulted in the largest oil spill in U.S. history. Part of what followed the disaster was a restructuring of the federal agency overseeing the issuance of drilling permits (the Minerals Management Service became the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement) and the release of a set of new rules governing the application and drilling processes involved in offshore drilling. The overhaul took time, which didn't sit well with many in the Gulf who were use to doing things the way they had been done in the past.
The Obama administration, in the name of safety, enacted a six-month moratorium to investigate, from a regulatory perspective, exactly how it had happened and how to keep it from happening again. It would be almost a year before the first new drilling permit since the accident was issued by BOEM.
In WorkBoat's cover story in the upcoming July issue, associate editor Kirk Moore reports that the Offshore Marine Service Association's president at the time, Jim Adams, said as the permit process dragged on that the Obama administration was anti-oil. "The administration has determined that they are going to strangle domestic energy production in the Gulf of Mexico," Adams said after the accident back in 2010.
I've said many times that I am sympathetic to the needs of the oil and gas industry. Many of my friends lost their jobs during the "permitorium" and many others worried for months that they would be the next ones out the door. That's a hell of a way to have to live. I support the industry.
However, 11 men lost their lives. What's worse, losing a job or losing your life? Too often since the BP oil spill we've heard about how much oil went into the water and the lasting effects of the spill or how much money the oil giant would eventually have to cough up to make this go away. Not often enough do we hear about the families those 11 men left behind.
Did the moratorium on new drilling permits have to last so long? I don't know. Was there politics involved? I don't know. What I do know is that according to our July cover story the industry has embraced many new safety regulations and that the Gulf is a much safer place to operate today than it was in 2010.
Ben Billings, the current OMSA president said, "The offshore marine industry is safer than it has ever been." Whose got a problem with that?
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Will Shrimp Safety Questions Pose Jumbo Problem for Trade Deal?
Food safety experts fear secret elements of a hotly contested Pacific trade deal will further hamper U.S. government efforts to turn back bad seafood at the border, even as shrimp imported from Southeast Asian farms continue to turn up significant numbers of positive tests for banned antibiotics and dangerous bacteria. "These trade agreements are used pretty much as a weapon to go after food safety standards," said Patrick Woodall, of the food safety group Food and Water Watch. "We're concerned it is creating a kind of secret venue to challenge U.S. food safety standards." Food safety experts have become increasingly vocal in recent days, with the House expected to vote Friday on legislation that would give President Obama broad authority to negotiate and sign the agreement, known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). At the heart of their concern is one of America's fastest-growing delicacies: shrimp. Click the following link for the rest of the story, including a video clip: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=31678131
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Filipino Crew Member Falls Ill On 'Death Ship' In Australia
Courtesy: Vessel Finder Maritime News
By: John Stansfield
11 June 2015
On June 8, a Filipino crew member of the so-called "death ship" Sage Sagittarius was transferred with a helicopter to hospital, suffering severe abdominal pains. The accident came in addition to the unresolved shipboard mystery. During the last few weeks, the Sage Sagittarius has been the focus of an inquest in Sydney (Australia), because of the mysterious deaths of three crewmembers, two of them Filipinos, who lost their life in 2012, over a six-week period. Since the vessel became known as the "death-ship", Australian media are trying to cover up the new case information, avoiding to comment on the new incident. Аccording to the limited information released for the media, at 11:50 am local time, a helicopter landed on the vessel controlled by NYK subsidiary Hachiuma Steamship off the port of Newcastle. The seaman was transported to a nearby hospital. Doctors commented that the man is now stable and in a good condition. In 2012, in a period of six weeks, three men died on the ship in mysterious circumstances, giving the fame of the Sage Sagittarius as the "death-ship". During the previous investigations, the ship's captain has been suspected in gun-dealing, abuse and misuse of his position. In the same time, the inquest in Sydney has revealed some more intriguing details, while investigating the three mysterious deaths aboard the ship, owned by Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK). The widow of Hector Collado, the ship engineer, who died on board the vessel in 2012, was offered US$ 37,493 ( AUS$ 48,100) by NYK as a compensation, if she vowed not to pursue legal action. However, she has hired a lawyer in order to protect hers and her husband's rights. Mrs. Collado was told by the NYK that her husband had died of a heart attack, while the ship was docked at the Port of Newcastle. After further investigations, it was found that he fell to his death. Some evidence show that prior to the fall, there was a dripping blood from a likely attack from someone onboard.
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SPECIAL NOTICE:
Comment Period for Seafarers' Access to Maritime Facilities Re-Opened
The United States Coast Guard is re-opening the comment period for Seafarers' Access to Maritime Facilities. They are most interested in comments regarding the 10.2% non-compliance rate. If you have already given comment about the compliance rate, they are asking that you do not re-submit information. However, if you did not give comment on that topic, they welcome your input. Please see the official notice below: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-05-27/pdf/2015-12657.pdf
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Join AOS-USA in saying the AOS Prayer each day!
Please take the time to say this pray with us each day:
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy upon all Seafarers
(1 Our Father)
(Hail Mary)
Our Lady, Star of the Sea, pray for us.
St. Peter, pray for us.
St. Andrew, pray for us.
Lord save us, we perish.
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Important Upcoming Events for
AOS USA Members
Day of the Seafarer
June 25, 2015
Sea SundayJuly 12, 2015
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