Shipwrecked crew thank Sailors’ Society

22/02/2022

A crew that was shipwrecked by a cyclone in the Indian Ocean has thanked Sailors’ Society for caring for them.

Its Crisis Response Network (CRN) team provided help and counselling to the captain and crew after the shipwreck on the rocky coast of Réunion Island. It happened when their vessel suffered engine failure as Cyclone Batsirai hit in February. One of the crew said, “It was so bad and so dark, we really thought we were going to die.”

The local community provided food and clothes for the 11 crew members – seven from India and four from Bangladesh. Sailors’ Society’s Reunion port chaplain Alain Djeutang arranged accommodation and alerted the charity’s Crisis Response Network.

The CRN team provided psychological support and trauma counselling, as well as liaising with the Indian Embassy and the ship’s owners to help get the men home.

The captain says, “I will never forget Sailors’ Society or the Crisis Team, and I will always stay in touch because of what they did for us.”

Sailors’ Society chaplain and CRN coordinator for Africa and the Middle East, Revd Johan (Boet) van Schalkwyk says, “It is hard to release that trauma. We worked closely and carefully with them and got them through. They no longer fear for their lives. Most are now fine, but a few are still needing a little more support and we are still here for them.”

All but one of the crew members, who is isolating with COVID, have been taken to Mauritius, ready to travel home to their families.

Sailors’ Society’s Crisis Response Network is funded by The Seafarers’ Charity and The TK Foundation. For more details, visit: https://www.sailors-society.org/crn