At Portsmouth Apostleship Of The Sea Supported The Crew After The Death Of Colleague
After the death of seafarer on board, a port chaplain in Portsmouth, South England, stepped in for providing priestly care for a reefer ship’s crew upon the request of its manager, Seatrade Groningen BV. On the Comoros Stream, the 19 crew members were worried after their colleague’s death while they were at sea in the Atlantic en-route to Portsmouth. They requested that the ship should be blessed when they arrived in port as they were feeling uncomfortable and wanted to seek reassurance. Peter Morgan, Portsmouth port chaplain from seafarers’ charity Stella Maris (Apostleship of the Sea) arranged for a local priest, Fr Peter Hart, from St Margaret Mary Church, to celebrate Mass on board and bless the ship.
On June 4, Peter, AoS ship visitors Geoff Breeze and Elfi Ip, and Fr Peter boarded the vessel to meet the crew.
“The mood on board was quite low and the seafarers did not speak much of the deceased, perhaps because the tragic incident was still very fresh in their minds,” said Peter.
“Mass was celebrated in memory of the deceased crew member. After that, some of the crew spoke with Fr Peter. This was very much appreciated by the crew. There was a change of atmosphere on board after this, it was more positive. The ship and the cabin of the deceased were blessed on request of the captain and chief engineer. The crew felt more comfortable after this,” Peter added.
The ship left Portsmouth, but Peter and AoS local ship visitors will continue to support the crew when they return to Portsmouth in just over a month’s time from their South America run.
Reference: apostleshipofthesea.org.uk
