Page 36 - Port of Baltimore Magazine January/February 2016

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THE MISSION
Dundalk, Canton, Locust Point, Fairfield and Curtis Bay to offer a friendly welcome. Crews from the Philippines, India, China, Russia, Eastern Europe, the U.S. and elsewhere may request a security escort and transportation for errands, Internet use, rosaries, Bibles, prayers and referrals to vendors or labor representatives or legal assistance.
It is our privilege to serve those
from all faith traditions or none. The free security escort we provide also facilitates family reunions for seafarers whose relatives have migrated to Maryland. What a joy to hear “Thank you! This was my first chance to see my son in nine years!”
And all this requires training.
New volunteers practice ship visiting with veterans and learn seven
sets of terminal-specific security rules. Volunteer Associate Chaplain Allene Taylor studied ship visiting
for two weeks in Houston 20 years ago. Baptist Pastor Don Bryant
and I completed an online Ship Welfare Visitor course accepted
by international seafarers’ welfare agencies. Lutheran Pastor Bob Schmitt meets regularly with his Seafarers International House colleagues, and we refresh our skills at annual North American Maritime Ministry Association conferences. Ten of us also completed a Center for Seafarers’ Rights course in maritime environmental regulations.
But the Manila course has been my most ambitious training, so I’m grateful that my course work was supported by the Episcopal Diocese
of Maryland and the Baltimore International Seafarers’ Center
(BISC) Board of Directors. In recent interviews, port leaders who serve on our board explained why and how they support BISC:
Board President George (Bud) Nixon, retired president of Rukert Terminals, notes that seafarers docking in the U.S. have had a much harder time going ashore since
9/11, because rules now mandate credentialed security escorts. BISC
AIB Certified
[34] The Port of Baltimore ■
January/February 2017