A Sanctuary from the Sea in the North East

Amid storage tanks, cargo vessels, and chemical silos, the Seafarers’ Centre for North Tees and Hartlepool is a quiet refuge, welcoming thousands each year.

For the last 16 years, Centre Manager Aidan Webster has worked hard to build a team of volunteers with a deep, intuitive understanding of the intensity of life at sea.

“Shift patterns that are at odds with the circadian rhythm,” he explains. “Being stuck within the workplace when off duty is not healthy for anyone.”

Aidan becomes emotional as he watches a group of seafarers making their way towards the Centre. He reflects, “The pressures placed upon some of these hard-working ‘knights of the sea’ have become so unbearable that they have taken their own lives.”

SUPPORT AROUND THE CLOCK
Supporting crews through such tragedies is perhaps one of the most important and most challenging roles that chaplains have to play. Disaster can strike at any moment, so simply being available whenever and wherever they are needed is crucial.

As Aidan explains, “They know me. They have my number. They know where to find me. This is why The Mission to Seafarers invests in Seafarers’ Centres – because it knows what it means for seafarers to have a place where they can relax and unwind, and where they know they can get help and advice.”

THE LUXURY OF TIME AND SPACE
The pressure of turnaround times makes it impossible for crews to make the hour and-a-half round trip from the port into town, so the welfare centre provides a crucial service. With the help of an army of volunteers, it is open for 300 hours each month.

With a small chapel for private prayer, a pool table, a library, soft seating, a large-screen TV, a conservatory, and outdoor seating for those balmy summer evenings, the space is often filled with the joy and laughter of seafarers.

Away from the ship, a captain will sit down with an oiler and complete a jigsaw over beers. Crews will sing together, enjoy a takeaway, or laugh over a silly movie. In these moments of release, humanity is restored.

“It means everything to me because I know that what I strive to achieve at the Centre is working, and when they return to their vessels, it is with lighter hearts.”