sea sunday message 2015
Apostleship of the Sea
Pontifical
Council For The Pastoral
Care
For Migrants And Itinerant People
Sea Sunday Message
(12th July 2015)
To transport goods and products around the world, the
global economy deeply rely on the maritime industry supported by a workforce of
around 1.2 million seafarers, who at sea and in the oceans frequently facing
the strong and powerful forces of nature, are managing ships of any kind and
dimension.
As ports are built far away from the cities and because
of the fast turnaround in loading and unloading the cargo, the crews sailing
the ships are like “invisible” people. As individuals we do not acknowledge the
importance and the benefits that the maritime profession brings to our life and
we become aware of their work and sacrifices only when disasters strike.
In spite of the technological development that makes
life on board more comfortable and easier communicating with their loved ones,
the seafarers are forced to spend long months in a restricted space, away from
their families. Restrictive and unjust regulations often limit the shore leave
when in port and the continuous threat of piracy in many sea routes add stress
while sailing. We are still confident that the ratification and coming into
force of the Maritime Labor Convention 2006 by a growing number of countries,[1]
accompanied by effective inspections by flag States will result in a tangible
improvement of the labor and working conditions on board of all ships.
The present day with the situation of war, violence
and political instability in several countries[2],
a new phenomenon has been affecting the shipping industry. Since last year, alongside
with the coast guards and the
naval forces of Italy, Malta and European Union,
the merchant vessels transiting in the Mediterranean Sea have been actively
involved in what is the daily occurrence of rescuing thousands and thousands of
migrants trying to reach mainly the coasts of Italy in any kind of overcrowded
and substandard crafts[3].
Since time immemorial seafarers have fulfilled the
obligation to rescue people in distress at sea under any conditions. However,
as it has been stressed by other maritime organizations, for the merchant
vessels rescuing migrants at sea remain a
health, safety and security risk for seafarers’. Commercial ships are designed to transport goods
(containers, oil, gas, etc.) and all the facilities (accommodation, kitchen, bathroom,
lavatories, etc.) are custom-made for the limited number of crew members on
board. For these reasons merchant vessels are not equipped to provide assistance
to a large number of migrants.
Seafarers
are professionally qualified in their work and trained to handle a number of
emergency situations but rescuing hundreds of men, women and children acting franticly
while trying to reach the safety of the ship, is something that no training
course in maritime school has prepared them for. Furthermore, the physical
effort in doing everything is conceivable to rescue as many persons as possible
and sometimes the view of numerous lifeless bodies floating on the sea, are a
traumatic experience which leaves the crews exhausted and psychologically
distressed needing specific psychological and spiritual support.
On Sea
Sunday as Catholic Church we would like to express our appreciation to the
seafarers in general for their fundamental contribution to the international
trade. This year in particular, we would like to recognize the great
humanitarian effort done by the crews of merchant vessels that without
hesitation, sometimes risking their own life, have engaged in many rescuing
operations saving thousands of migrants lives.
Our
gratitude goes also to all the chaplains and volunteers of the Apostleship of
the Sea for their daily commitment in serving the people of the sea; their
presence in the docks is the sign of the Church in their midst and shows the
compassionate and merciful face of Christ.
In
conclusion, while we are appealing to the governments in Europe and in the
countries of origin of migration flows, as well as to the international
organizations to cooperate in searching for a durable and definite political
solution to the instability in those countries, we would like also to call for
more resources to be committed not only for search and rescue missions but also
to prevent the trafficking and exploitation of persons escaping from a
condition of conflict and poverty.
Cardinal
Antonio Maria Vegliò
President
X Joseph Kalathiparambil
Secretary
[1] To see the complete list of countries please
check: http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:11300:3816127284372413::::P11300_INSTRUMENT_SORT:1
[2] More than 43 percent of those travelled across the Mediterranean in 2014
were prima facie refugees. According
to Frontex, Syrians and Eritreans accounted for 46% of the 170.000 people who
reached Italy by boat in 2014. Other large numbers came from Sudan, Afghanistan
or Iraq (Amnesty International, April
2015)
[3] Only in 2014 about
800 merchant ships rescued around 40,000 migrants.