Letters from Seafarers: Cebu, Philippines
The following three letters were
sent by seafarers to chaplains of AOS in Cebu in the early
part of 2006.
Hi, how are you nowadays?
I hope and pray that you are in
the best of health. It looks like Lenten season is fast
approaching. Kindly send me the so-called official “Dos and
Don’ts” to be observed by Catholics for the coming season. I
am keeping in touch, too, with my former shipmates who are
now onboard other Shell ships. I will forward to them your
message / instructions with regards to fasting and
abstinence.
My ship, VLCC Omala is back once again to Saudi Arabia
from Durban, South Africa. We will be loading 2 million
barrels of crude oil and sail to Singapore for unloading of
the same cargo by the 27th or 28th of February, God-willing.
My contract, together with 6 other persons onboard will end
next month. Alleluia!!
Praise the Lord, the people onboard our vessel are always
safe and in good health, and most importantly, have peace of
mind, although we have been confined inside the vessel for
more than 5 months without shore leaves. No shore leave is
part of the contract with the company.
I praise and thank the Lord for being with us always,
inspiring the people here to be continuously active in our
spiritual activities, most especially in the celebration of
the Liturgy of the Word and Holy Communion Service on
Sundays. Take care and God bless. Ariel Amoncio
≈ ≈ ≈
Hello there. Once again,
I’m back onboard. October 2005
to April 2006 are months of North easterly monsoon in the
East China Sea and in North Pacific Ocean. My Japanese
master told me that the weather has changed considerably.
Weather conditions are very different compared to 30 years
ago. For example, once a tropical depression was spotted,
strong winds stayed only for 1 day and forecast skies can
only be hours. At present, these phenomena can stay up to 3
days and can generate strong gale/winds and very high seas.
This kind of weather phenomena scares seamen. My
experiences can attest to this. In September 2005, while on
the way from Osaka to Funabashi, our vessel encountered
heavy swells with waves up to 4.5 meters. One most
unforgettable experience was in November 1996, when I first
joined my vessel. We were crossing the Atlantic from
Sept-Iles, Canada on our way to Algiers, onboard a bulk
carrier. We sailed on for two weeks in the middle of gale
winds, high seas. Our ship rolled heavily. What registered
in my mind was that ships like ours are nothing compared to
Mother Nature when she starts unleashing her wrath.
We seamen suffer all of the these adverse conditions at
sea. During bad weather, my crewmates used to say, “hard
time and hard money”. When we encounter bad weather at sea,
we always think of our family, and simply shake our heads
and say, “well, this is the life we chose”.
Amidst these adverse conditions, we still keep on
working, and we keep on going even after strong winds and
high waves have already passed. We cannot use high waves and
strong winds as reason for not keeping on with our jobs
onboard. I may not overcome the fears that I have because of
my profession but I’m somehow able to cling to it not only
because I need it, but because of the help of prayers –
before I start my work during the day, and after I have
finished it . Thanks for listening. Regards to all.
Andy Martinez
≈ ≈ ≈
Dear Friends,
It was the 28th of January 2006 when I joined my vessel
“Our Lady of Good Voyage”, with a gross tonnage of 5,463.24,
engine BHP of 7,600 and with registry no. 051183. The
original name was KIAI, and now under the management of
Aboitiz Jebsen Bulk Transport Inc.
My first day was very relaxing, since I was being shown
around and not really getting into all of my duties yet. The
second day onboard, however, was an unforgettable one. I
accidentally fell down stairs after finishing all of my
chores. When I recall that very moment when I fell, it makes
me smile. I couldn’t imagine how I could’ve made one small
move and I missed all 12 steps going down. I was badly
bruised from my fall, and heavily teased for a long time,
but I felt so fortunate that it was not a serious accident.
I’ve got so much to tell you, but there is not enough
time or paper. Also, the sea is still rough. What I want to
say, though, is that I feel lucky and blessed. Life at sea
is tough...but God has kept me going, and has even sent
plenty of good Samaritans onboard or through AOS to help me
along the way. Your prayers and letters give me comfort and
strength. I started on January 28th as somebody who just
wanted to work for my food and afford a comfortable
lifestyle later on – now I no longer feel this way about my
job, and no longer take anything or anybody for granted.
Let’s continue praying for each other. God bless.
Vincent Alba |