AOS USA 3 colored logo
AOS USA Maritime Updates 

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

 

October 8, 2015

In This Issue
Reflections on the Loss of the El Faro.
Coast Guard: Search for El Faro Survivors to End at Sunset.
Support for AOS Jacksonville!
Prayer Service at SIU Houston Hall.
Who are the Americans on El Faro?
FMC's William Doyle Issues Statement on El Faro
Mark you Calendars for the 2016 AOS-USA Annual Conference!
Notes from Readers!
Join AOS-USA in saying the AOS Prayer daily!
Upcoming Events
PrayingHands
    Prayer Requests:
 
For the repose of the soul of Fr Guy Bouille, AOS Canada, who passed away on October 6. Please join us in prayers of thanksgiving for his life and the great work he did for seafarers.



For the repose of the soul of Fr. Robert Duggan, C.S.B., AOS-USA Cruise Ship Priest member, who passed away in a sudden accident this past week.



For Deacon Derek Skelton, AOS Canada, who will celebrate 58 years of Marriage with his Anchor of Life, Marjorie on October 5, and 36 years ordained to the Diaconate!

God Bless you Both!





For all seafarers who are just starting their careers, especially those who are struggling to find work in the current economic climate.



 




 
Prayer for Hurricane Season
By: Bishop Maurice Schexnayder

 (2nd Bishop of Lafayette)




O God, Master of this passing world, hear the humble voices of your children. The Sea of Galilee obeyed your order and returned to its former calmness; You are still the Master of land and sea. We live in the shadow of a danger over which we have no control: the Gulf of Mexico, like a provoked and angry giant, can awake from its sleep, overstep its conventional boundaries, invade our land and spread chaos and disaster.
During this hurricane season we turn to You, O loving Father. Spare us from past tragedies whose memories are still so vivid and whose wounds seem to refuse to heal with passing of time. O Virgin, Star of the Sea, Our Beloved Mother, we ask you to plead with your Son on our behalf, so that spared from the calamities common to this area and animated with a true spirit of gratitude, we will walk in the footsteps of your Divine Son to reach the heavenly Jerusalem where a stormless eternity awaits us. Amen.
  



A Seafarers' Prayer



O God, I ask you to take me into your care and protection along with all those who sail ships.
Make me alert and wise in my duties. Make me faithful in the time of routine, and prompt to decide and courageous to act in any time of crisis.
Protect me in the dangers and perils of the sea; and even in the storm, grant that there may be peace and calm within my heart.
When I am far from home and far from loved ones and far from the country that I know,
help me to be quite sure that, wherever I am, I can never drift beyond your love and care.
Take care of my loved ones in the days and weeks and months when I am separated from them, sometimes with half the world between them and me.
Keep me true to them and keep them true to me, and every time that we have to part, bring us together in safety and in loyalty again.
This I ask for your love's sake.
-Amen-
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 


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,  
or we perish.
 
 
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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)





Reflections on the Loss of the El Faro      


Dear Friends,



The United States Maritime Industry is a very small, and very close, community. Going to industry events around the country, one always finds "the usual suspects". So when the El Faro went missing last Thursday, this small community began to band together.



Very quickly people began connecting the dots as to which Unions had members onboard, and which Maritime Academies had graduates onboard. Everyone seemed to know someone onboard, or knew someone who knew someone onboard.
 
But with all the questions that have arisen, the real question on everyone's mind is "Why?" and "How could God let this happen?"
 
Honestly, there's no clear answer to that. The truth is, horrific things happen to some of the finest people. It's not a judgment against them. It is simply a part of the human condition.
 
The stunning thing in this tragedy is that so many people were taken from us all at once. We know that thousands of people die of sudden heart attacks or in car crashes every day. But when 33 perfectly healthy people are taken all at once, while they are just doing their jobs, it stands out and shakes us to the core.
 
Indeed, people throughout the industry, from the most experienced maritime officer, to the first year cadet in training have been shaken to their core.  We are angry, we are scared, we are numb.  
 
At such times, it may be hard to believe God is there. But He is. He is not the one who causes things to happen, but He can help us through these times.  He is with us, just as He was with His Son Jesus, on the Cross.
 
Many of us immediately offered up prayers to God and asked Mary, Our Lady, Star of the Sea to intercede for our brother and sister mariners - and in many cases, former shipmates.
 
As we grapple with this tragedy, we encourage you to meditate on these words from the Old Testament:


"Be still, and know that I am God."
 
Wishing each of you the Peace of Christ, which goes beyond all understanding.
 

Doreen M. Badeaux

Secretary General
 
SS El Faro
SS El Faro






  Coast Guard: Search for El Faro Survivors to End at Sunset

Courtesy: GCaptain.com

7 October 2015 
 
MV El Faro.

Photo Courtesy of MarineTraffic.com/Capt. William Hoey
  
The U.S. Coast Guard has confirmed that the search for the El Faro crew will be suspended at sunset tonight.



The announcement comes an exhaustive 6-day search for survivors covering more than 172,000 square nautical miles.


The EL Faro had 33 crew members, including 28 Americans and 5 Polish nationals, when it sank sometime Thursday in Hurricane Joaquin while off the coast the Bahamas.



The Coast Guard is set to hold a joint conference with the NTSB on Wednesday to provide an update on the search for the missing crew and the investigation.



Communication was lost with the ship Thursday morning after the Coast Guard received a satellite notification from the crew at 7:20 a.m. stating that the ship had lost power, taken on water and developed a 15 degree list as it battled Hurricane Joaquin. The situation was reported to be contained and being managed by the crew, the notification said.



The El Faro departed Jacksonville, Florida on its normal route to San Juan, Puerto Rice on Tuesday, September 29th when then-Tropical Storm Joaquin was located a few hundred miles from the Bahamas and packing 40 knot winds. By Thursday, Joaquin had grown into a dangerous Category 4 hurricane with 110 knot winds and wave heights likely up to about 35 feet while centered right off eastern coast of the Bahamas.


The Coast Guard has reported that the last known location of the ship was 35 miles northeast of Crooked Island, Bahamas, approximately the same location as the eye of the slow-moving hurricane on Thursday.



The ship is believed to have sunk in approximately 15,000 feet of water.





On Saturday, search crews located a life ring in the water bearing the name 'El Faro' - the first sign of the ship since it went missing Thursday. By Sunday night, the Coast Guard had located a deceased person in a survival suit in the water, as well as a heavily damaged life boat with markings consistent with those on board the El Faro. Additional items located by Coast Guard aircrews within search areas include a partially submerged life raft, life jackets, life rings, cargo containers and an oil sheen Sunday, the Coast Guard said.
Assets involved in the search have included two Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules airplanes, two Air Force C-130 airplanes, one Navy P-8 airplane, a Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter, three commercial tugs, and the Coast Guard Cutters Northland, Resolute and Charles Sexton.



The El Faro is owned by TOTE Maritime, part of TOTE, Inc. and the Saltchuk family of brands.




 Support for AOS Jacksonville



Dear Friends,



We ask you to give your prayers and support to Milton Vega and his team at AOS Jacksonville during this time. Earlier this week he told us that one of his volunteers was quite shaken by the news of the El Faro's sinking. She had visited this ship and knew the crew well. 
 After finding out the names of those onboard he stated "The one person I got to know earlier this year was Louis Champa Jr., 51, Merchant Marine, whom I transported to the Jacksonville Airport for a car rental so that he could travel home to go on his shore leave."



Please keep them in prayer, as they reach out to the families and colleagues of the crew.





 Prayer Service at SIU Houston Hall





On Monday, Fr. Sinclair Oubre visited his SIU Union Brothers at the Houston Hall, and all stopped to hold a brief prayer service for the crew of the El Faro.



Thanks to our ITF Inspector, Shwe Aung for the following video which shows a portion of that prayer service.











 Who are the Americans on El Faro?

Courtesy: NBCNews.Com 
By: Erik Ortiz 
6 October 2015 


Some had a taste for adventure. Others wanted to test their courage. And while the 28 Americans aboard the El Faro container ship are a dedicated and diverse crew, one thread seems to run through each of their lives - a love for the sea.
The ship's owner has not released a list of all 33 crew members, including five Polish nationals, who were lost when the vessel presumably sank  Oct. 1 - just as Hurricane Joaquin thrashed the waters off the coast of the Bahamas.
So far, only one body has been recovered in the search. But family members have been holding out hope that the others are alive - and they're sharing stories of their loved ones.
Click to read the Full Story

 





FMC's William P. Doyle Issues Statement on EL FARO Tragedy 

Courtesy: MarineLink.Com  
By: Joseph Keefe 
7 October 2015 


Commissioner Doyle, a 1992 Massachusetts Maritime Academy graduate, sailed as an engineer aboard the SS MAYAGUEZ on the Philadelphia - Jacksonville - San Juan trade route in 2001. Mr. Doyle issued the following statement today:
 
"I would like to extend my deepest condolences to the employees, contractors, families and friends of TOTE Maritime, including my brothers and sisters of the Seafarers International Union and the American Maritime Officers Union, on the recent disappearance at sea of the vessel EL FARO. I am praying for the safe rescue of any survivors, as well as for those who have passed. It is with a heavy heart that my deepest sympathies are extended."

 

A Mariners Version of Psalm 23:

 

The Lord is my pilot; I shall not drift.

 

He lights me across the dark waters. He steers me through deep channels.

 

He keeps my log.

 

He guides me by the star of Holiness for His name's sake.

 

As I sail through the storms and tempests of life, I will dread no danger, for You are

near me; Your love and care shelter me.

 

You quieten the waves with oil, my ship rides calmly.

 

The Lord looks over me while waiting at sea for a safe harbor

 

And at the end of my voyage, I shall rest in the port of my Lord."
 


 Mark you Calendars for the 2016 AOS-USA Annual Conference! 
May 14-16, 2016 
 
We are pleased to announce that the next conference will be held at:

The American Maritime Officers STAR Center

Dania, Florida

March 14 - 16, 2016

More info coming!



 Notes from Readers

Editor's Note: We received several really nice notes from readers, who joined us in the Novena to Our Lady Star of the Sea. We thought we'd share a few of those with you! 


I just docked in an overseas port after a lengthy and long tow of a decommisioned Navy Combatant. The weather was pretty lumpy the last few days as we dodged TS Niala.
Thank you, Father Sinclair, and all who participated in these prayers.



Every nite as I made my peace with God it was borne out to me how big the ocean is & how small is our vessel. But we believe, and therefore we are protected by Providence.
The vessel is forward deployed in support of our great Republic and our military.



The crew & I send everyone God's Peace, Joy & Thanks.
Vr
Buddy
Blackburn Leslie J III

Captain MSC

Master USNS Navajo T-ATF 169

Port of the Pacific Ocean





Thank you so much for sharing this novena! A novena to Our Lady Star of the Sea is very fitting for this academy!
 
Respectfully,
MIDN Joshua Levitas, 1/C
United States Merchant Marine Academy
Newman Club President
Class of 2016




Thank you so much for presenting the Stella Maris Novena. I really enjoyed praying with you and your group and having the e-mail there each morning really helped to keep me on track. I have already put the calendar dates in my computer for the Novena for next year. If I go on another cruise with my father, I will be sure to bring the prayers to Our Lady Star of the Sea with me to pray during the cruise. Thanks again and God bless you and your apostolate.
 
Kindest regards,
Luana

Cruise Passenger & Member of AOS-USA 
 


Thank you very much for the novenas that you have sent us. I especially appreciate the novena from September 24 about the mariners. For me it carries a very special message and mission.
I especially feel this novena because of the visit from Pope Francis as he travels amongst a broad spectrum of people and audiences reiterating a message for the good of the common people.
 
Capt. Pietro Parravano

AOS-USA Fishing Representative to the Board 
 

    Star of the Sea Statue

 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, or we perish!

Important Upcoming Events for

AOS-USA Members




 

World Fisheries Day 
November 21, 2015



Houston Maritime Ministry Training School 
February 21 - March 3, 2016

Houston School Application



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


Apostleship of the Sea of the U.S.A. | 1500 Jefferson Drive | Port Arthur | TX | 77642