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25.01.2022 Dear Seafarers, Fishers & Port Workers, today we celebrate 100 years of Stella Maris service to you. Thank you for letting us into your precious lives For the... times we have helped you we are grateful. For the times we could have done more we are are sorry for not acting. Above all we thank you and love you for who you are and we look forward to staying on the journey with you for as long as it takes!

24.01.2022 ABs Jorge Soler and Jonamie Encarnacion are pictured aboard TOTE’s Perla Del Caribe in San Juan, during a safety drill.

23.01.2022 Seafarers are professionals, proud of the work they do and their contribution to global prosperity and wellbeing of the world’s people. During #COVID19 they hav...e been selfless in ensuing cities and towns across the world get the supplies, food and equipment they need to fight this virus and its effects. But seafarers have been let down. Some governments are continuing to prevent more than 200,000 seafarers from accessing their right to stop working when their contract has expired, from getting off the ships and returning home. Some have even refused seafarers access to necessary medical treatment and shore leave. It's time for the world’s governments wake up, and recognise seafarers' contribution by treating seafarers with the dignity and respect that they deserve. #DayoftheSeafarer #WeAreITF #CrewChangeCrisis

23.01.2022 Happy faces tonight onboard the Ardmore Sealion at Port Botany Happy Chief Cook having a night off! Burgers delivered for dinner before they set sail for Korea. The things we take for granted ashore! God bless them

21.01.2022 Yesterday the United Nations UN Executive Committee adopted decision points which strengthen the organisation's support for seafarers and seeing this crew chang...e crisis resolved. In strong language, the UN is now warning of the consequences for global supply chains, and is for the first time directly calling on 'key maritime countries' to address this mounting humanitarian disaster. Specifically, the UN calls on China (including Hong Kong), India, Russia, The Philippines, Indonesia, Ukraine, The Mauritius, Panama, Liberia, The Marshall Islands, Singapore, Malta, The Bahamas, South Korea, The United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, The United States, Australia, Brazil and Argentina" to show leadership. We agree. It's time for those countries to stand up and introduce exemptions for seafarers to travel and transit restrictions so they can leave and join ships, pass through transit hubs, and get to and from their homes. They need to encourage each other and other countries to bring in these practical exemptions, too. We need crew change NOW. See more

16.01.2022 The crew on the Al Rawdah are connecting with family and friends today

14.01.2022 Good Day Bernie, Just wanted to pass on our thanks for the loan of the wi-fi equipment in Port Botany. Greatly appreciated by all onboard, particular as many members of the ships company have been away from family and friends far longer than normal. That along with the fact that no shore leave is allowed in any port makes your gesture extremely welcomed.... Best regards, Mike Stewart Master Maersk Izmir

12.01.2022 11 Filipino seafarers missing after explosion in Beirut Twelve Filipinos were reported missing following the explosions that hit the Port of Beirut in Lebanon, ...the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) reported Wednesday. In an online briefing, DFA Undersecretary Sarah Arriola said 11 of them were seafarers while the other one was a household service worker. Earlier, two Filipinos were reported dead and six were hurt. Two more Filipinos were reported injured, bringing the number of wounded Filipinos to eight. The additional 2 injured currently recuperating at the Embassy chancery after receiving treatment from the hospital are part of the group of 13 filipino seafarers whose ship was docked 400 meters away from the blast zone, Arriola said. Eleven of the said seafarers have been reported missing. In addition, one Filipino household service worker has also been reported as missing, bringing the total number of missing Filipinos to 12, she added. Arriola said the DFA is trying to find the missing Filipinos by contacting hospitals in Beirut. She added that they are also relying on reports from the Filipino community there. At least 78 people died and around 4,000 were reported injured following the explosion that shook the Lebanese capital. The explosion stemmed from 2,750 tonnes of agricultural fertilizer ammonium nitrate that had been stored in a portside warehouse for years, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Hassan Diab said. https://globalnation.inquirer.net//12-filipinos-missing-af

08.01.2022 Message to Marine Pilot Michael Kelly Good day Michael, Regarding the wifi box, I can say that it works very well. Crew pay for internet mostly to reach to their families. However connection on board is very slow and expensive. The connection which has been provided was very fast. It was absolutely great. Crew were able to connect easily and make video calls with their families. I should also thank you that this improved their moral motivation after a long time. I am gratefu...l for your efforts. We all aware of that and really appreciated. We did not encounter such as this warm and friendly behaviors for a long time. Finally someone approach us to help without asking anything. We really needed to visit a church or mission in seamen club but hopefully next time. God save all of you and we are glad to see existing of people like you still. Please kindly pass our best wishes to sister Mary. Thanks again. Best Regards, Capt. Mete Soyalp Master, M/T Abu Dhabi-III

07.01.2022 So this #comitechallenge is a thing... Raising awareness of the plight of seafarers here at home and abroad stuck in some very difficult, precarious and challe...nging situations. For many Covid-19 has caused even more uncertainty in an already strained environment. To all the seafarers out there I say THANKYOU At times you are forgotten about by many because they don’t see what you do but you are also missed by many who await your safe return to their lives, to your homes and your families. You are the real life Santa’s - travelling the globe providing us with all the gifts and goods we need to be healthy, happy and safe. I’d like to pass the #comite baton to Mich-Elle Myers and TasPorts managers Andrew Fletcher and Stephen Casey Good Luck ! #seafarers #thankyou #covid19 #ITF #MaritimeUnionofAustralia #union

05.01.2022 I am tired, exhausted and hopeless. I have been at sea for 12 months already. And I don’t know when I can see my kids and family. It’s very frustrating. Raph...ael (not his real name) has no idea how long he will be stuck on his ship. A 33 year old seafarer from the Philippines, with two children, he was scheduled to fly home in April, but the pandemic put paid to his plans: airports have been closed, and his company decided not to relieve him, and eight other colleagues, some of whom have spent up to 14 months onboard. This is the fourth time my home leave has been cancelled. I don’t know what’s going on. We deliver the cargo and the goods, but they close the borders for us. Because of the uncertainty, Raphael says, the atmosphere on the ship is tense, and he fears that there will be an impact on safety, because of the fragile mental health of the crew: our minds are in different worlds, he says. It’s like walking on thin air. ’All we want is to come home’ Some 90 per cent of global trade takes place via maritime transport, thanks to the work of around two million seafarers. Like Raphael, Matt, an English Chief Engineer onboard a boat that sails mainly in the Middle East and Asia, feels that the crucial contribution made by seafarers, who ensure that the transportation of key goods continues unimpeded during the pandemic, should be valued more highly. I would say that, as seafarers, we have more than played our part during this pandemic. We have kept countries supplied with everything they need, including PPE (personal protective equipment) and medical supplies, oil and gas to keep power stations running, and food and water. All we want in return is to be able to come home and rest. Matt’s contract is well overdue, and most of his crew members are in a similar situation: The officers have 10-week rotation contracts, but most of us have now been onboard for 6 months or more. It is even worse for the crew: they’re on nine-month contracts, but I have one crewman who has been onboard for 15 months. Waiting at home for Matt are two children, aged eight and 12, and the separation is proving difficult for all members of his family. I’ve done long contracts before, but this is different. It has a psychological effect, as there is no end in sight. It affects family life a lot more. My children are always asking when am I coming home. It’s difficult to explain to them. As time has gone on, Matt and the crew have gone through a range of emotions, and the mental health burden is growing. I think we’ve been through all the emotions. A lot of anger in the beginning as we had to watch all the borders close. We understood the health risk, and we could understand why it was happening. We tried to remain hopeful, but as time has passed it seems like little has changed. We are hanging in here, but we are tired and mentally fatigued. ---------Isolation on the high seas---------- Wagner Brandt is the Head of the Transport and Maritime Unit at The International Labour Organization (ILO). As a former Naval Officer, he recognizes the challenges experienced by stranded crew members. The sea can be tough. When the weather’s bad it's pretty awful. Also, those onboard are living for several months in the same place that they're working. These days the industry is highly efficient, so a container ship can be unloaded and loaded in a few hours. Ports are now some distance from town centres and, in the case of oil tankers, you might be discharging or taking on oil, at an off-shore facility. So, seafarers have fewer opportunities to disembark than they did in the past. It can be very isolating Thanks in part to the work of the ILO, conditions for seafarers have steadily improved over the years: in 2006, we set up the Maritime Labour Convention, often referred to as the seafarers bill of rights. This sets out the minimum working conditions for all seafarers, including provisions such as the minimum hours of rest, occupational safety and health, and states that no seafarers should be at sea for more than 11 months. Today, the vast majority of the ships in the world are flying the flag of States that have ratified this convention. There are still problems, of course, such as low pay, seafarers forced to work long hours, or abuse, but this is why we have international instruments, to set minimum work standards, and see that they are enforced. These conventions have been sorely tested by the current pandemic, however. Seafarers may have to travel thousands of kilometres to reach their ships, or return home. Since the pandemic, commercial flights have been significantly reduced, borders have been closed, and it has become more difficult to obtain visas or travel permits through certain transit countries. ----------The unheralded contribution of the seafarer----- To help Matt, Raphael, and the more than 200,000 seafarers struggling to cope with a seemingly endless stint on the seas, the International Maritime Organization (IMO), set up the Seafarer Crisis Action Team (SCAT), in partnership with the ILO, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS). SCAT has successfully intervened in several individual cases, finding solutions that will allow seafarers to go home. The IMO is pushing for all governments to classify seafarers and other marine personnel as essential workers which would make it easier for safe crew changeovers to take place. Following a ministerial summit in July, held in the UK, 13 countries committed to recognizing seafarers as key workers, and facilitating crew changes. The cause has also been taken up at the highest levels of the UN, with Secretary-General António Guterres expressing concern about a growing ocean-bound humanitarian and safety crisis, and praising the unheralded contribution of seafarers to the global economy, and bringing life-saving supplies to civilians trapped in conflict zones, such as Yemen. For Matt, the change can’t come soon enough: We need the support of world governments to allow us to transit through their countries without restrictions. Time frames for visas need to be reduced or scrapped all together. This needs to happen now. The delay is going to have a detrimental effect to the maritime industry. There has been more than enough time for talking: now we need to see real action. https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/07/1068651?