Catholic group calls for end to modern-day slavery, trafficking on UK fishing boats

Brighton, England, Sep 20, 2024 / 06:00 am

The Catholic maritime charity Stella Maris is urging the U.K. government to take action to protect fishermen following a BBC program that shows cases of modern-day slavery on fishing vessels.

Stella Maris is the maritime agency of the Catholic Church in the U.K. 

Last month, BBC One Scotland aired the documentary “Disclosure: Slavery at Sea,” which accuses Scottish fishing company TN Trawlers of modern-day slavery and human trafficking. 

The BBC said that, between 2012 and 2020, the U.K. Home Office officially recognized 35 individuals employed by TN Trawlers from the Philippines, Ghana, India, and Sri Lanka as victims of modern slavery.

“The authorities and welfare organizations must get better at recognizing what modern-day slavery is, reporting it, and supporting swift criminal prosecutions against those few bad operators,” said Tim Hill, the CEO of Stella Maris. 

The BBC described its documentary as “a three-year investigation” that “uncovers allegations of modern slavery aboard U.K. fishing vessels. Reporter Chris Clements hears the stories of migrant workers who came to these shores in search of a better life only to find hardship and misery.”

Stella Maris said it is providing “continued support to mistreated fishers in a small number of ports across the U.K.”

In one example, Joel Quince from the Philippines is shown in the program to have found a position with TN Trawlers working as a deckhand. On one occasion, in 2012, Quince was repairing one of the ship’s metal nets on the Philomena ship when rough weather struck, causing him to bang his head on board and fall unconscious. 

Despite the injury, skipper Tom Nicholson Jr. did not take Quince to the hospital, instead giving him paracetamol and a bandage. Quince, who was in considerable pain, said: “It’s not acceptable. He doesn’t see me as a person. He doesn’t care about my life. He doesn’t care about his crew.”

Quince eventually found support, using his own resources, at a Fishermen’s Mission. 

Other cases reported in the program are a cause for concern for Stella Maris, who is now calling for action on cases similar to Quince’s.

“We are urging the U.K. Home Office and law enforcement agencies to do more to protect fishers,” the charity said. “Stella Maris has reported several cases to the police over the years, but found prosecutions ‘painfully slow,’ with fishers left in limbo in the U.K. while their cases are assessed.”

TN Trawlers said it “accepted responsibility” for Quince’s case but disputed wider claims of mistreatment of workers. A TN Trawlers spokesperson said that workers’ “overwhelming experience” was of being “well treated and well remunerated.” 

However, Hill lamented the cases found in the BBC program and is glad the issue has been given such publicity.

“We are delighted to see the BBC broadcast this program, bringing some much-needed awareness of a deeply troubling issue,” he said. “This is a tragic case of abuse and exploitation for which there is no place in this world. Our commitment is never-ending, and we continue to support these fishermen and other more recent cases, with friendship, pastoral care, and financial support.”

The mission of Stella Maris involves helping thousands of seafarers each year who are struggling with loneliness, exhaustion, bullying, and exploitation. 

“It is our goal to ensure that all fishers are treated equally with respect and dignity so that people can live happy and prosperous lives, free from exploitation and abuse,” Hill said.

The work of Stella Maris has been praised by Cardinal Vincent Nichols, archbishop of Westminster and president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales. Paying tribute to the work and mission of Stella Maris port chaplains, Nichols said: “For many of the ships, [the support from port chaplains] is hugely important in terms of seafarers’ religious belief and practice. Really this is great work that goes on.”