WHY ARE SEAFARERS' CENTRES STILL NEEDED?
Despite, or perhaps as a result of, the many advances in maritime technology in recent years, the demands made upon seafarers are very much greater than in the past. Ships are larger, but have smaller crews, often arrive and leave at unsocial hours and their time in port is frequently measured in mere hours.
.jpg) Seafarers may be on contract and away from home for long periods (10 months is not unusual) and work long hours onboard at sea and in port. In many ships the crew is comprised of a number of nationalities without a common language, English being kept for basic onboard communication.
Even in the best run ships operated by reputable companies, these factors lead to isolation and loneliness. As a consequence, seafarers who are already doing a difficult and often dangerous job in a hostile environment, separated from family and friends for very long periods, become more remote from their native life. They will often feel lonely, unappreciated and become increasingly socially isolated.
Seafarers will often be required to work on the ship while it is in port with little opportunity to get ashore. Telephone calls and email facilities, if they are available to the crew at all, are expensive from the ship and often beyond the means of the seafarer - except in dire emergencies.
This means that the unconditional approach of our chaplain and volunteers when ship visiting is increasingly valued and they are treated as a friend among seafarers with a special trusted status. The Chaplain and Volunteers greeting the crew to offer ‘phone cards and the opportunity for a chat about personal matters, or offering a lift to the Seafarers’ Centre to use its facilities, brings some respite to the modern seafarer.
THE CONTINUING NEED FOR THE SOCIETY’S WORK
Extracted from the Annual Report of the Sailors’ Society (UK) for the year to 31 December 2008.
“There is no doubt that improved efficiency in cargo handling equipment and competition between ports to attract vessel operators to use their facilities has led to marked changes in the shipping industry. With the increase in technology and the pressure of competition between ports improving the speed of unloading and loading, ship turnaround times are being dramatically reduced.
Although there is enormous economic benefit to the end consumer in bringing goods and produce to market more efficiently, for the merchant seafarer crewing the vessels that transport these cargoes, the opportunity for a change of routine and the potential for rest and shore-side leisure is diminished every time this efficiency increases. There is no doubt that this has impacted heavily upon seafarers’ lives in port and increases the relevance of the Society’s work to serve today’s and tomorrow’s seafarer whenever the need arises.
Vessel turnarounds are now counted in hours, rather than days, and the effect of these fast port turnarounds is to increase the workload upon the seafarer, not improve their chance to spend personal time away from the ship. The obligation upon port operators to adhere to the ISPS code, which is intended to improve security at ports worldwide, leads to additional responsibility upon the seafarer whilst in port and puts even greater restrictions on the chance for a few hours of continuous shore leave, to relax and enjoy those things that other people take for granted.
Vessels continue to increase in size and the number of people needed to crew them is becoming less as shipboard technology becomes more sophisticated … The wide mix of nationalities now crewing the majority of ocean going ships can result in them finding themselves socially isolated, even among their work colleagues, as their native tongue is often not the common language of communication onboard, and other than work instructions passed in a common tongue, there may be little informal conversation or social interaction among crew members whilst onboard.
As a consequence, seafarers who are already doing a difficult and often dangerous job in a hostile environment, separated from family and friends for very long periods, become more remote from their native life. They will often feel lonely, unappreciated and become increasingly socially isolated.
All this means that the unconditional approach of our [ship visitors] is increasingly valued and they are treated as a friend among seafarers with a special trusted status.
Our service continues to follow a strong Christian tradition to provide support and respond to all the seafarer’s welfare needs. Most of all remaining concerned with their physical, emotional and spiritual well-being and the Society’s work can provide the antidote to the many problems of modern-day seafaring. The need for what we do is more vital now than it ever was.”
[The Sailors’ Society in Auckland is affiliated to the UK parent body through the Society in NZ] 
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