History of the organization

A brief historical overview

Origin of the organization “Les Amis des Marins”

The organization “Les Amis des Marins” was founded in 1985 in Port-de-Bouc, it is worth explaining that this was the result of a long history.

As early as 1950, the “Mission de la mer” (Catholic Sea Mission) existed in Marseille, led by Father François Gosset, nicknamed “the Admiral” because he had taken part, as an officer, in the battle of Narvick, against the German navy. With him, the “Mission de la Mer” had acquired a flat on the Boulevard des Dames [1], where seafarers and apprentices from the Maritime School were happy to meet.

In the 1960s, the port of Fos did not exist yet, but Lavéra was already receiving oil tankers. One of the priests of the “Mission de la Mer” de Marseille, Ambroise Boucherie, came to work there to help and give out food or other essential products to those in need. He was followed by another priest, Jacques Brosset, who, after working for a few months at the “Maison des Gens de la Mer” (House of the Seamen) in Lavéra, became a telephone operator on board the oil tankers docked at the quay.

Construction of the port of Fos

From 1970 onwards, Fos became a huge construction site, creating from scratch an immense port capable of accommodating giant oil and mineral tankers and the rapidly expanding “container ships”. In addition to the Maison des Gens de Mer of Lavéra, managed by the AGISM (Association for the Management of Maritime Social Institutions), the Norwegian Church had also opened a small hostel in Port-de-Bouc to welcome Scandinavian seafarers in port.

The Reverend Bill Down, General Secretary of the “Missions to Seamen” of the Anglican Church wrote: “In 1974, I travelled from Freemantle, Australia to Tilbury, England on the ship Discovery Bay. We stopped for 12 hours in Fos. It was December, it was cold and wet. Seafarers from the ship walked from the container terminal to the small town of Port-Saint-Louis, some 5 kilometres away. Nobody was interested by us… I realised that Fos was a port where a centre for seafarers would be very much appreciated! “

Opening of the centre and the beginning of the organization

It was not until 10 years later, when the idea of a centre began to take shape in Marseille. At that time, the same Reverend Bill Down, during an ICMA (International Christian Maritime Association) meeting, met the Archbishops of Aix, Monseigneur Bernard Panafieu, and that of Marseille, Monseigneur Roger Etchegaray.
Also present were the priests of the Mission of the Sea: Ambroise Boucherie, Roland Doriol, Hervé Bienfait, Jacques Brosset, and with him some Christians from Port-de-Bouc, Martigues and Fos, who were already receiving seafarers in their homes. This meeting reinforced their conviction that a welcome house was absolutely necessary for the port of Fos.

On July 18, 1985, a historic meeting was held at the home of René and Cécile Tezenas, in the presence of the archbishops, who agreed to call a priest to organise this welcoming task. It was Father Philippe Plantevin, of the Mission of France, who was joined by Father Jacques Pelletier, a retired worker priest of the Mission of France.

Activities of the association “Les Amis des Marins“

The Seamen’s Club of Port-de-Bouc

The association “Les Amis des Marins” has premises acquired through a grant from ITF Seafarer. It is located at 35, avenue Roger Salengro, in Port-de-Bouc. The premises had to be enlarged in 1995 to accommodate the increasing number of seafarers. We provide free transport for the seafarers from the docks to the Seamen’s Club with three minibuses, also financed by ITF.

The Seamen’s Club is open from 6pm to 10.30pm. It does not provide accommodation but allows seafarers to relax in a friendly atmosphere. We have a small shop, providing basic necessities (toothpaste, soap, some sweets) or souvenirs (items from Paris, perfumes), and a bar, where you can find beer, soft drinks and pizzas.

But the most important thing for the seafarers is to be able to call their families. That is why we now provide them with 3 Internet stations and a Wi-Fi network.

Reception service

Seafarers have the opportunity to play billiards, football or table tennis. In addition, they can watch satellite television, all free of charge.
To keep seafarers informed, we have a number of publications for seafarers (The Sea, ITF, Marino…). We can also download foreign publications, depending on the nationalities present.

We offer to help seafarers who wish to send money to their families. We accompany them to the Western Union office and to the Post Office.

Since 1985, the number of visitors to the Seamen’s Club has steadily increased. In recent years, we have welcomed around 11.000 seafarers per year.

To cope with this growing activity (transport, management of the shop and bar), the original team of volunteers had to be reinforced by paid staff. Currently, the organization employs 7 people. This is barely enough to meet the demand. So far, we have been able to benefit from subsidised contracts for some jobs, which we now hope to make permanent, within the limits of our financial resources.

Shipping terminal (Graveleau)

This terminal is about 25km far from Port-de-Bouc and the boat stopovers are very short. That is the reason why, in 1994, it became necessary to have an annexe directly on the dock, made available by the PAM (Great Seaport of Marseille). After a short sleep between 2002 and 2004, because of its outdated state and the lack of personnel, the annexe re-opened in october 2004, in a 100m² modular building, purpose-made for this by the Great Seaport of Marseille.

This annexe is open every day between 4pm and 9pm and welcomes around 15 seafarers per day. There, they can find the same services than in Port-de-Bouc, which is really appreciated. It seems that only a few shipping terminals, which are in general far from town, have a centre like this. In particular, we offer three computers with an internet connection and a Wi-Fi connection.

Other services offered

Two persons can make almost daily visits on board to meet with the seafarers who, for any reasons, will not be able to come to the Seamen’s Club. The persons can listen to them or provide other services, for example bring them phone cards.

As far as possible, we stay in touch and visit the seafarers hospitalized in Martigues, who are easily isolated because of the language barrier.

We are also asked to play a humanitarian role to help the seafarers in discarded or difficult situations. We facilitate the interactions with the ship-owner, the agent, the ITF (International Transport Workers’ Federation), the police, and sometimes to find food and warm clothes.

Lastly, we can also provide support to any seafarer wanting to be listened to by someone if they want to talk about personal problems. The seafarers’ center also has a “prayer hall” opened to everyone. A mass is held there every Sunday by a catholic priest. If asked by the crew, a mass can also be held on the ship.