Call to wish for ‘helpless’ seafarers within the Gulf

Seafarers within the Gulf have turn into the helpless victims of the battle being fought around them – in keeping with the pinnacle of a charity supporting nearly two million crewmen and girls working on ships the world over.

Peter Rouch, secretary-general of the Mission to Seafarers, and an Anglican priest, has described the helplessness experienced by seafarers within the Arabian Gulf, on ships that would find themselves under attack. The charity’s latest prayer diary encourages prayer for seafarers within the region.

In a message to the mission’s supporters, he writes, “Imagine, for a moment, standing on the deck of an unlimited steel vessel, its holds full of cargo that – under the improper conditions – could turn into catastrophically volatile. 

“The horizon isn’t empty but alive with the streaks of missiles, the thud of interceptions, the uneasy choreography of contemporary warfare playing out within the sky above you. There is not any shelter to run to, no quick exit, no secure distance to be gained.”

He explains, “The human body isn’t designed for such stillness within the face of danger. Deep inside us, older than reason, is the instinct to flee or fight. It broadcasts itself in a rush: the quickening pulse, the tightening muscles, the sharpened senses. A command, as ancient because it is urgent: get out.

“But at sea, in such moments, there isn’t a ‘out’.”

The Mission to Seafarers (MtS) – founded in 1836 because the ‘Bristol Channel Mission’ – now has a presence in 200 ports in 50 countries worldwide. MtS is the most important seaport-based welfare organisation on the earth supporting seafarers one year per yr, no matter their rank, nationality, gender or religion. It has a network of chaplains across the globe.

Security constraints mean that current access to seafarers across the Gulf by the MtS is restricted. 

Peter Rouch, a former archdeacon within the Church of England, explains, “The quiet, pastoral presence that MtS people would normally offer – a visit, a conversation over coffee, a listening ear on the quayside – has been replaced, in lots of cases, by a telephone call or the blink of a WhatsApp message. 

“Support continues, especially for those in essentially the most precarious circumstances, including abandoned vessels. But the human proximity that matters a lot is harder to supply.”

Mr Rouch highlights the helplessness and vulnerability felt by the seafarers, along with their isolation from their family members that could be a feature of life at sea. Communications have often been disrupted by the attacks around them. 

He explains, “For seafarers in The Gulf, the body’s alarm continues to sound, however the motion it demands is unattainable. The result isn’t simply fear, but a chronic, grinding strain. Over time, that sustained state of alertness takes its toll: exhaustion, anxiety, a lack of appetite, the slow erosion of each physical and mental resilience.

“Layered upon that is one other, quieter burden. The familiar ache of separation from home – already a defining feature of life at sea – deepens into something sharper, more uncertain. The query shifts. Not ‘when will I see them again?’ but ‘will I?’.”

Mr Rouch calls on the world to recollect the seafarers caught up within the midst of the war, to reply with compassion to their vulnerability. and support those that seek to assist the seafarers.

He appeals for attention to be paid to the plight of those that work on the ships that transport vast amounts of important goods around the globe – including through a few of the globe’s troublespots. 

He explains, “As tensions within the Gulf proceed to unfold, it’s price holding in mind each those on the ships – waiting, watching, enduring – and those that, like our own MtS staff still working with dedication within the region, remain committed to supporting them, often in difficult and constrained circumstances. 

“Their work may not command headlines. It rarely does. But it matters.”

The Mission to Seafarers publishes a monthly prayer diary and encourages prayer for seafarers the world over. Its April diary calls for prayer for the security of seafarers within the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, for all seafarers affected by the conflict within the Middle East, and for seafarers transiting the Red Sea and other areas where warfare and piracy is encountered.

Rev Peter Crumpler is a Church of England minister in St Albans, Herts, and a former communications director with the CofE.