Many seafarers spend Christmas Day thousands of miles away from home as they guide massive, laden ships across vast oceans, but they are not forgotten.
Numerous organisations reach out to these far-flung souls during the holidays while they ensure that global trade continues during a time known for togetherness and festivity.
The North American Maritime Ministry Association (NAMMA) helps to coordinate this global effort through 55 seafarers' centers on the continent's shores.
The International Christian Maritime Association (ICMA) brings together another 650 centres in 450 ports that are focused on merchant mariners' welfare, especially at Christmastime.
The centres, which carry out annual Christmas gift programmes, are run by 27 outreach agencies worldwide that include NAMMA, Mission to Seafarers, Sailors’ Society, Stella Maris and German Seamen’s Mission.
"These programmes are a great tradition that give small gifts to visiting seafarers as a token of thanks for all the work they do to deliver the world's goods," NAMMA executive director Jason Zuidema, told TradeWinds.
Christmas gifts at sea
The Seafarers International House (SIH), which has an 84-guest facility in its New York headquarters, exemplifies what these centres do for merchant mariners during the holidays and all year long.
At Christmastime, volunteers who work out of a van in the port of New Haven, Connecticut, put together "Christmas at Sea" satchels for incoming seafarers.
This year, they prepared about 2,000 gift bags that each contained a t-shirt, sweatshirt, a hat, socks, candy and nuts, chaplain Ruth Setaro told TradeWinds.
"When these guys get these gifts, they can't believe it," she said. "Some actually cry."
SIH and the hundreds of other seafarers' centres worldwide help these seamen throughout the year by bringing them needed supplies through "gangway visits" during Covid-19.
"It's really anything they need," she said.
Setaro also takes mariners who are on ship leave to local stores so they can shop for needed items.
"Walmart and Best Buy are their favourite places," she said.
"We end their visit with a prayer that they'll be safe and that they'll have calm waters to sail on."
The Seattle Seafarers Center (SSC), one of 200 centres worldwide affiliated with UK-based Mission to Seafarers (MTS), reaches out to seamen on vessels that sail into the Pacific Northwest.
"Our mission is to make seafarers welcome in the Port of Seattle through ship visiting," chief operating officer Barbara Blakistone told TradeWinds.
"Seafaring is a lonely, isolating profession that's quite necessary given that 90% of the goods we use in the US come by ship."
She said the Seattle centre, like so many others, has volunteers that do personal shopping for seafarers that stay on their vessels for months at a time.
"They enjoy using electronic devices in their spare time so the SSC buys computers and smartphones for which we are reimbursed when they reach port," she said.
For Christmastime, many centres, including SSC, have a special Christmas outreach program called the Ditty Bag Program.
"These are hand-sewn cotton bags stuffed with toiletry items and candies," she said.
This past spring and summer, the MTS gave a grant to SSC that allowed it to give 1,116 ditty bags and 800 free SIM cards to seamen for Christmas.
"Since May, the volunteers and staff of the SSC have made 300 ship visits," Blakistone said.
"It's hard climbing up 55-65 steps at a 45 degree angle to get on board, but the personal reward is great."
Raising money for seafarers
Other organisations hold fundraisers and other events to raise awareness of the plight of seafarers and help support them throughout the year.
The Heroes at Sea 2020 organisation on 21 December held a virtual global tribute concert for seafarers that included a message from International Maritime Organisation Secretary General Kitack Lim.
The entity also plans to raise money through a Heroes at Sea initiative that invites participants to walk, jog, cycle or swim distances which together equal the globe's circumference.
The original goal of 40,000 kilometers has already been more than doubled, and has been extended to 3 January, according to organisers World Maritime Consultancy & Services, Singapore Nautical Institute and World Maritime Heritage Society.
"Without seafarers, there is no shipping. Without shipping, there is no global trade," Heroes at Sea honorary chairwoman Carleen Lydell Walker said.
"Without global trade, you will have no clothes, electronics, energy or, in many cases, food."
