Make a Donation - Nearly all of our work is funded by voluntary donation. Please give all you can and we promise to spend your money wisely.

Our Chaplain boarded a ship and met a seafarer on watch at the top of the gangway. As the Chaplain was filling in the security information and getting his boarding pass issued he was chatting to the watchman. He spoke about his colleague who had earlier been taken to hospital. He had an accident in the engine-room changing a piston head. For a split second the gantry crane stalled and the tackle slipped. That was the moment he was nearly killed. He had lost most of his hand and his arm was torn to the bone.

The ship was sailing that afternoon. The ship’s agent was too busy to cope and the Captain was anxious to catch the tide and stay on schedule or the charterer would demand compensation and his job was on the line!

It fell to our Chaplain to visit the injured man later on, when he was recovering from an operation to save his limb. He found him alone, in pain, unable to speak more than basic English to tell the nursing staff who were rushed off their feet. He had no spare clothes or toiletries. They were in his locker on the ship now way out to sea.

Our Chaplain bought some clothing and supplies using our emergency welfare fund, he organised aftercare in a seafarers' hostel and visited the seafarer every day until he was fit enough to be repatriated home. Our Chaplain ensured that the man was fit to fly and he took him to the airport when he left the country. He knew that the individual would never work at sea again.

Through your generosity we can provide for those seafarers in need. We can supply the vital information and practical support that can change their lives for the better.