Appeals: Seafarers in Distress

Seafarers in Distress, a charity set up to help foreign seafarers, will be launched tomorrow, on Sea Sunday. Its primary aim is to provide food, shelter and clothing to men and women stranded in Britain without support. Many of them are working on vessels sailing under flags of convenience and find their voyages unexpectedly extended for thousands of miles, with clothing inappropriate to the British climate, diminishing food stocks and wages outstanding. If ships are impounded, sailors' repatriation can be a lengthy process. Based in the Port of Liverpool, the charity also hopes to draw attention to unsatisfactory and dangerous working practices which are prevalent on these vessels.

Seafarers in Distress, c/o Mersey Mission to Seamen, Colonsay House, 20 Crosby Road South, Liverpool L22 1RQ, telephone 051-920 3253.