As Christmas approaches, many of us will be with our loved ones at this special time for families.
Most seafarers will not. At best, they may be in port with access to internet and mobile connections. At worst, they will be at sea with no opportunity to contact their families.

“When we go on board a ship with Christmas gifts, it makes such a difference to seafarers,” says Deacon Peter Barrigan, Stella Maris regional port chaplain to Tees, Hartlepool and Seaham. “Last year, one seafarer said to me, ‘Thank you for not forgetting us’.”

Typically, seafarers spend between nine months to a year at sea, with little chance to meet others during their brief stays in port, given the fast turnaround time of vessels.
The seafarers might be invisible, but many of the items you see in your local shops have arrived in the UK by sea, as has the fuel at the petrol station and your mobile phone or computer.

Stella Maris port chaplains such as Peter, and his team of volunteer ship visitors, are often a lifeline to seafarers, providing, among other things, transport to local shops, mobile wifi devices, warm clothing, and arranging medical appointments.

At Christmas, says Peter, one of the most important things is to enable seafarers to contact their families.
“We make sure they have SIM cards and mobile phone top-up vouchers. We are aware of the sadness that being away from families can bring at this time of year, so we try to spend more time on ships.”

When Peter takes Christmas gifts on board, he dresses up as Santa Claus. Seafarers will often take photos of him to send back to their families.
Last year, he and his team distributed around 800 shoe boxes or bags wrapped in Christmas paper. These were provided by local parishes and schools and contained items such as toiletries, socks, woolly hats, and chocolate.

“There’s often a card inside with a simple message written by a child, saying something like ‘Thank you for all you do for us.”
On one ship last year, an officer went to his cabin and returned with the card he’d received the previous year, telling me that it had meant so much to him that he had kept it by his bed.

“We tend to have an impromptu sing-along when we take the gifts on board. As we gather in the mess rooms, we start singing Christmas songs, which the guys join in. It’s just a few verses, but it brings smiles to their faces.”

Unlike Stella Maris port chaplains, we are unlikely to meet any seafarers over Christmas.
Yet it’s only because of the tough job that they do that we can buy many of the things that help make Christmas such a special time.

To find out more about Stella Maris’ work or to make a donation go to stellamaris.org.uk.