Fremantle Spray Newsletter

8/12/2019 Fremantle Spray Newsletter

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Fremantle SprayA newsletter from Fremantle International Seafarers Centre

Greetings from the Editor

Hello to all our readers. This is our first newsletter and we hope that

you find it informative and enjoyable. This edition will be the first of

many to follow on a regular basis covering local, national and

international maritime news.

Last month, at a ceremony at the International LabourOrganisation(an agency of the United Nations) in Geneva, our Centre was

declared winner of the International Seafarers Centre of the YearAward for 2014. News of this earth-shattering achievement has

been received by the hardworking staff and dedicated volunteers of

the Centre with great excitement, gratification and humility. It was

actually the fourth consecutive year Fremantle had been shortlisted

for the prestigious award, so it was fourth time lucky you might

say.

Of course, sharing in this award with us are all our wonderful

maritime colleagues and supporters including Fremantle Ports, the

local shipping agencies and members of the Fremantle Port

Welfare Committee.

Not to forget the most important people

of all, the worlds hardworking and

underappreciated seafarers who so

generously share their lives with us.

Continued page 2

Inside

2Huge honour at ILOawards

4Visit to SS Southampton

5Col Brown appointedSailors Societyrepresentative

6Planning sessions Vision 20:20 workshops

7Michaels HarmonyChampion Award

8Abdul named Volunteerof the Year

9Stella Maris Patrick andSister Mary

11One remarkably braverescue

12Anti-slavery campaign

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We are not going to rest on our laurels! Such awonderful international honour requires that we

strive to continue to improve our welfare services to

the visiting crews - many of whom are in real need

of friendship, spiritual comfort and practical

assistance. Accordingly, we have scheduled over

the months of May and June, four planning

workshops in which all staff and volunteers are

invited to participate. Other key maritime

stakeholders will also join us for what we hope will

be lively, interesting, frank and visionary sessions-aimed at helping us more authentically and radically

respond to St Matthews call [35:25] to welcome and

love the stranger visiting our shores.

Finally, from a personal perspective, I am delighted

that I have joined the Fremantle staff as Director of

Welfare & Justice where I will work closely with

Father Dennis and Centre manager Ann Robinson. I

look forward to spraying many more newsletters in

the years to come. Keep the faith.

- Colin Brown

Greetings from the Editorcontinued

Father Dennis, Ann Robinson and

Colin Brown at the ILO awards.

Huge honour at InternationalLabour Organisation

It was a great thrill for Fr Dennis and Ann Robinson,

when present at the ILO Geneva, to hear announced

before a packed forum of representatives from all

shipping nations of the world, and the winner

is...Fremantle, Australia! Even Dennis was

speechless ( for a short time). And our hearty

congratulations goes to the other very worthy

seafarers centres from Germany, South Africa,

Ukraine and Thailand that were also shortlisted for

the International Seafarers Centre of the Year

Award. For more detail visit :

http://seafarerswelfare.og/news-and-media/winners

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Australian Governmentat Geneva awards

Also present at the ILO on the evening of the

Awards ceremony was our good friend Allan

Schwartz from the Australian Maritime Safety

Authority (AMSA).

Allan was there representing the Australian

Government at a meeting on the Maritime Labour

Convention (MLC) now nine months in force.

Allan kindly released a national media report

announcing that Fremantle had won the prestigious

award.

AMSA is responsible in Australia for overseeing the

operation of the MLC, called the Seafarers Bill of

Rights.

Meeting with ISWANThe International Seafarers Welfare & Assistance

Network (ISWAN) were the sponsors of the 2014

International Seafarers Welfare Awards.

We are very grateful to them for assisting with our travel

costs to attend the presentation ceremony. We had the

good fortune to meet with the organisations

hardworking Executive Director Roger Harris who, on

congratulating Fremantle, said, The awards recognise

excellent achievement in maritime welfare and they

inspire others to do more for the wellbeing of seafarers.

Roger made the interesting point that, Fifty six

countries have now ratified the MLC and we look

forward to another major maritime nation, China,

ratifying in 2014. An increasing percentage of visiting

seafarers are now from China.

ISWAN operates a 24 hour multilingual helpline free for

seafarers around the world- found at

www.seafarershelp.org/

Dennis, Ann, Col & Allan Schwartz with the award.

Seafarers toast the Flying Angel Fremantle

For an interesting video on the critical maritime

role AMSA carries out in Australian waters visithttps://www.amsa.gov.au/about-

amsa/corporate-information/index.asp

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For over 70 years the Fremantle Flying Angel Club has been a joint

venture of the Sailors Society (SS) and the Mission to Seafarers. For

some time the Sailors Society has played a low key role in the life of the

ministry but it is expected that this will now change.

Dennis and Col had the pleasure of meeting with Stuart Rivers, the CEO

of the SS based in Southampton, just prior to Easter. Our long overdue

family reunion saw the exchange of some stimulating insights, ideas and

possibilities and we look forward very much to SS becoming a much more

active partner in our plans for the future growth and well being of thecentre.

We visit the Sailors Society

in Southampton

The Clubs big anniversary in 2016In 2016, the Club will be celebrating its 50 years of service in the present

location. In the next few months we will be meeting to start planning for the

landmark occasion. Some good ideas have already been floated but it is too

early to go into specifics.

As mentioned above, there has been a combined active ministry to seafarers

for 70 years in Fremantle. But before that, the Fremantle Sailors Rest cared

for seafarers visiting the port from as early as 1893. This means that aministry to seafarers has existed at Fremantle for over 120 years! And the

labour of love continues.

Founders son drops inThe inspiration and driving force behind the construction of our existing

building was the late Rev Chris Chetwynd. Chris was the Clubs

manager/chaplain from 1960 to 1968. His framed photograph hangs on

the wall at the entrance to the Club. Late last year, unannounced, a

person dropped into the club with a striking resemblance to the

photograph on the wall.

The visitor introduced himself as Phil Chetwynd, the son of the Rev Chris.

Phil was on a holiday from the UK. Many photographs were taken and

stories shared in the short time available to Phil before he left. He

promises to return one day and spend more time with us.

And on a sadder note, the Rev Terry Ranson, another loyal Club chaplain

who served from 1979 to 1991, passed away this week. Part of the Clubs

upstairs accommodation section is named the Ranson Wing in honour of

Terrys contribution. May God grant him eternal peace and joy.

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Col Brownappointed asrepresentativeThe Sailors Society, founded in 1818 in the UKwith chaplains working in many ports around theglobe, has appointed the editor its representativein Australia.

The Club welcomes this initiative. So the editorwill now wear two caps - one as Director ofJustice & Welfare for the Flying Angel Fremantleand the other for the Sailors Society in Australia.Both fit very comfortably.

Anweiser serving in the shop

A team ofmany talents

At present we have over 30 good

souls (employed and volunteer)

working at the Club to make the lives

of seafarers a happier one.

Our personnel bring many skills and

talents to the teams efforts. For

example, we have volunteers with

credentials in hospitality, air hosting,

catering, management, IT, nursing,

counselling, retailing, engineering,

accounting and several trades,

including electrical.

We even have a current seafarer Ryall

Rodricks, generously volunteering his

time when not working at sea.

Remarkably, the staff members speak

between them some sixteen different

languages - much appreciated by the

multinational crews that we greet and

care for.

Staff designated newpositions

It has been announced that there has been an

update of job titles for the centre.

Dennis will serve the club as Chief Executive

Officer (and chaplain), Ann Robinson as

Manager of Operations, Michael Kitafuna as

Senior Ship Visitor, Carolyn Szymanowicz as

Administration Officer, Jodi Craig and Penny

Blaskett will share the Evening Manager

position, Sandra Norman the Purchases Officer,

Ryall Rodricks the Seafarers Representative

and Anweiser the IT Support Officer.

It seems that there will be no wage increases

accompanying the new titles, only unimaginable

eternal rewards that await all in heaven!

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Carolyn (L) and Jodi (R) preparing meals

Planning sessions Vision 20:20 workshops

Alec Meyer, former General Manager of Commercial Operations with Fremantle Ports, is working with the staff

in organising a series of workshops over the months of May and June.

The workshops will draw upon the input and expertise of the Flying Angel staff, outside maritime sector people

and former and current working seafarers to set in motion plans for the future improvement of the club and its

welfare services.

All look forward to what hopefully will be productive and enjoyable workshops. The club is very fortunate and

extremely grateful to have Alec on the bridge.

Planning sessions, to be led by an outside facilitator, will be held on the 29 May and 5, 12, 19 June 2014 at the

Club.

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7/12

Michael with Archbishop Roger

Michaels Harmony Champions Award

Our senior ship visitor extraordinaire Michael Kitafuna, has received a thoroughly well

deserved award, presented last month on Commonwealth Day, from Archbishop Roger Herft

in St Georges Cathedral Perth. Michael has been honoured with the 2014 Harmony

Champions Award in recognition of the significant contribution made to cultural diversity

in WA through a commitment and dedication to volunteering. The hundreds of seafarers

Michael warmly greets each week will say Amen to that.

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Abduls timely award

Volunteer of the YearAnd yet another award was bestowed last month on

one of our volunteers, the popular Abdul Kanani.

There is nothing that Abdul cannot do - serving in the

shop, driving buses, welcoming seafarers and carrying

out a whole range of handyman jobs around the club,

including patching up the roof to stop the leaks; Abdul

does it in style and with a smile.

He gratefully received his award from Bishop Kay

Goldsworthy at the Clubs AGM for being chosen

Volunteer of the Year.

Congratulations Abdul - what a wonderful contribution

to the life of the centre you are making. Next time you

go up to fix the leaks, as award winner you can now

shout it from the rooftops!

Abdul with Bishop Kay

New seafarersrecovery roomneededAt any one time, we have seafarers staying

with us who are recovering from

operations, illnesses or injuries. One of the

downstairs rooms is being used as amakeshift recovery ward and we wish to

convert this space into a modern medically

well equipped recovery room for those

seafarers in need of extra attention, care

and rehabilitation. The project will be

expensive but very worthwhile so the

search for funding has begun. We will be

asking our funding supporters to dig deep-

so fingers crossed.

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Deacon Patrick Moore, our good friend at Stella MarisFremantle, was happy to hear of our Clubs success inGeneva. Patrick very kindly wrote a testimonialsupporting our nomination last year.

Indeed, Patrick had exciting news of his own. Hiscolleague Sister Mary Leahy, legendary ship visitor forStella Maris based in Sydney had sent Patrick a photo ofher trip to Rome. In the photo, Mary is gifting to PopeFrancis a seafarers life jacket and inviting him to visitAustralia (or more likely our ports, knowing Mary).

One wonders whether life jackets were around forseafarers/fishermen in Peter and Jesus day? Probablynot, if one takes the extreme anxiety of the disciples inMark 4:35-40 at face value. Bravo Mary- the legendgrows!

Stella Maris Patrick and Sister Mary

Dr Phillip Martin

one great supporterHelping with the planning for thenew seafarers recovery room is DrPhillip Martin.

Phillip has specialised in aviation,marine, diving and hyperbaricmedicine for over 35 years.

Since 2006, he has been theMedical Director of International

Aero-Medical Services providingmedical and repatriation services,particularly to crews frominternational vessels requiringhospitalisation in WA.

We have been blessed to have Philwork so closely with us over theyears - one of the great championscaring for injured and sick merchantseafarers down on their luck.

Dennis represents the club

locally and nationallyAs mentioned previously, the Australian MaritimeSafety Authority is the key player in maritime mattersin Australia.

Last year, Dennis attended an AMSA hosted forum inSydney, aimed at bringing the nations shippingagents together to better understand the implicationsof the coming into force of the Maritime LabourConvention.

Now freed from parish duties, Dennis has recently

joined the Australian Seafarers Welfare Councilwhich meets four times a year.

The Federal government has commissioned thisCouncil to promote the development and delivery ofwelfare services to seafarers visiting Australian ports.

Dennis is also secretary of the local Fremantle PortWelfare Committee, chaired by AMSAs wellrespected and very capable Capt Reza Vind. Thesemeetings of the local port welfare committee serve asa pivotal contact and information sharing platform forFremantles maritime family.

Sister Mary with Pope Francis

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10/12

Latest conference on

seafarers welfarePresentations by maritime welfare practitioners at a recently

held conference at Hull University, UK titled, The Health and

Welfare of Seafarers: Past, Present and Future are well

worth reading.

For a coverage of the conference papers visit

http://seafarers2014.wordpress.com/summaries

Important forum inFremantle in JunePlease mark this date in your diaries. AMSA is hosting a free

forum examining how well the MLC is working since

becoming law, and input on how the Convention has affected

the delivery of welfare services in the West.

The forum is intended for ship owners, managers, agents of

ships, port personnel and those involved in providing care for

visiting crews.

The editor will be giving a presentation on the work of the

Flying Angel Fremantle locally and nationally in one of thesessions.

Copies of the program can be obtained from Ann Robinson at

[email protected]

To register (no cost) visithttps://wired.ivvy.com/event/SSDDVD

Tackling bullying and

harassment at seaA n important new online video and training workbook has

been launched to help educate crews to identify incidents of

bullying and how to address it. The video emphases that the

safest ships are often where teamwork is central and crew

members are judged on their ability to do their jobs, not by

their religion, nationality, colour, age,gender or sexual

orientation. The video has been subtitled in numerous

languages.

It can be downloaded from www.nautiilusint.org

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The following articles can be found on the ISWAN

website at www.seafarerswelfare.org/

Port levies on ship visits to help welfare

workers- Dr Olivia Swifts presentation.

Seafarers salary survey.

New measures to protect abandoned

seafarers.

Latest on piracy attacks.

The aftermath of cyclone Haiyan

(Philippines). The Maritime Labour Convention six

months on, by Dr Cleopatra

Doumbier-Henry.

The following articles can be found on the ITF website

atwww.itfglobal.org/

Seafarers win minimum wage case.

Flags of Convenience campaign of fifty years continues.

A message to seafarers regarding their right to contact the ITF.

The Slave Free Seas campaign- opposing unjust practices akin to modern day slavery.

One remarkably brave rescueRecently, a few kilometres off the Fremantlecoast, a seafarer on an oil tanker went over-board, plunging from a considerable heightinto the Indian Ocean.By the time the ship had turned to search forhim, a husband and wife fishing in a smallboat managed to locate the almost drowningseafarer.

In attempting to drag him into their boat thewife fell out of the boat and could not swim!The husband somehow managed to get bothwife and seafarer safely into the boat as theship neared.Crew members watching from the bridgewere astonished to witness the rescue,articularl as two shark fins circled

the fishing boat during the rescue!We think the wife should receive theGood Samaritan on the water award,for bravery.

Interesting topics on the web

Putrid on-board conditions revealedby AMSA inspections

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Anti-slavery campaignRecent headlines have covered leaders of industry (including WAs Andrew Forrest ofFortescue Metals Group) joining forces with church leaders from the Catholic, Anglicanand Islamic faiths to expose and fight on a global scale the hideous practices of whatamounts to modern day slavery. The modern definition of slavery covers people whoare used against their will by human traffickers and slaveholders for their own profit.Sometimes those exploited are hidden behind closed doors; and sometimes they arehidden in plain sight. They are victims of forced labour or forced relationships unable to

escape from the situation. Visitwww.iarc.asn.au/for an excellent article on this form ofabuse.

The International Transport Federations Slave Free Seas campaign referred to abovehas thrown a light on some dark and nasty practices involving those who work at sea-where mariners are unpaid, abused, exploited and virtually held as work hostages. InNew Zealand presently, the ITF reports the initiation of legal action claiming some NZD30 million in unpaid wages for fishers in the region. The matter is before the NZparliament as well.

Sea Sunday celebrationsSea Sunday comes around once again, this year to be celebrated on 6 July 2014. The service will

be held at the Wesley Uniting Church, Fremantle opposite the post office. The Victoria Park Brass

will be participating in the celebration service. Then refreshments will be served back at the Flying

Angel Club. Everyone is welcome to join us. Lets make the effort for the seafarers.

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