GLAD TIDINGS No. 10 PART C

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Australia became the twenty second nation to ratify the Maritime Labour Convention at a ceremony at the International Labour Organisation last December. Since then another five nations have ratified with Poland being the latest. Only another three are needed which is expected to happen before Christmas, so it is almost certain that the long awaited Convention will come into force in 2013. It is hoped that from a moral perspective the government of the Philippines

Maritime Labour Convention Update

Dennis Claughton at the ILO

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will be one of the remaining three nations to ratify on behalf of the one quarter of a million Filipino seafarers that work the world’s oceans. Once thirty nations actually ratify, all nations of the world will be bound by the Convention whether they ratified or not. We are planning more workshop/information sessions for MTS personnel to attend once the Convention achieves full ratification and we will keep all updated on this.

In this edition:

• Maritime Labour

Convention Update • Geelong’s plan to visit

Manila / SeaChurch • Brisbane and Captain

Dave • Geraldton’s Bill Ross

reflects

• Sydney is on the move

GLAD TIDINGS 2012 No. 10 Part C

Geelong’s plans to visit Manila / SeaChurch

abour Convention Update Noah Park plans to return to Manila later this year with some of his dedicated volunteers to renew acquaintances with seafarers they have befriended during visits to Geelong. Noah is delighted with the popularity of his Sea Church ministry and continues to upload to YouTube many wonderful and poignant messages and cheerio calls

from seafarers to loved ones in faraway countries. Volunteer Harry Webb gives an added joyful dimension to the videos as he enters wholeheartedly into making the seafarers welcome to Geelong and joins them in song and good cheer. The camera loves you Harry but you need to do a bit more work on those Russian ballads!

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Capt Dave Ellis who is chair of the MTS Brisbane and appointed at our last national conference to the Australian Council is a busy man. Dave’s real job is Manager of Operations & Research - Office of the Inspector of Transport Security reportable to the Minister for Infrastructure & Transport, and with it comes an extremely heavy responsibility (as you would expect with a title that long). The role of the Office is to inquire into, when directed by the Minister, a major transport or offshore security incident or a pattern of incidents that point to a systemic failure or possible weakness of aviation or maritime transport security systems in order to strengthen the nation’s transport security. Those at our Tasmanian conference will recall Dave’s excellent presentations on the

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threat of piracy to the world’s seafarers and shipping industry. Dave’s wife Marilyn volunteers at the Brisbane centre and is an integral part of operations there. Marilyn well knows what it is like to have a loved one at sea for long periods of time. So most appropriately when Marilyn issues directions under the MTS Brisbane flag, Dave heads straight in that direction without question! We are very fortunate to have such a dedicated team giving so much of their time and talent to our ministry in Brisbane port.

Brisbane and Captain Dave

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Geraldton’s Bill Ross Reflects

Bill Ross reports that he is still working hard at trying to raise funding for the much needed renovations to Geraldton’s seafarers centre. Bill has moved mountains over the last year or so but is finding the going slow and hard at present. It was interesting to read in Bill’s last report (who is a very experienced and popular seafarers chaplain) that, “ The seafarers are always appreciative of the service we provide, pleasant to talk with and complimentary about our city. Their primary interest is to contact home, more and more on the internet rather than the phone, and check emails and websites. This is a wonderful facility for them, and considerably eases the pain of their separation from home. The other side of the coin is that their concentration on a computer screen has reduced the

opportunities for conversation with seafarers while they are in the Centre.” Bill’s words are so true, and challenges us to be more creative in the ways we try and communicate with our visitors so that we do not lose the all important pastoral dimension to our work.

The Revd Ian Porter tells us that the last few months have been busier than usual for the good folk at the Flying Angel Sydney. The chaplains and staff our preparing to relocate the centre from the historic Sussex Street building to their new and well appointed Union Street Pyrmont building on Sydney Harbour. As Ian points out the smaller new premises will require some hard decisions on which items, memorabilia and archival records go and which stay, but the one thing we know for certain is that the dedicated

Sydney MTS ministry will go from strength to strength in the new premises. As always the caring Trustees of the Sydney Bethel Union have been a tower of strength and support in guiding us through this historic transformation. A big thank you goes out to them. Ian hopes that they should be settled in to the Pyrmont building by mid to late August. We look forward to him sending some photos of the brand new facility (full of smiling seafarers).

GLAD TIDINGS 2012 No. 10 Part C

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Sydney is on the Move