On several fronts, the SIU continued with its hurricane relief efforts late last month even as yet another storm—this one named Wilma—battered the southeastern United States.In late October, Seafarers were sailing aboard eight vessels—including training ships mobilized during Hurricane Katrina—helping provide aid along the Gulf Coast. Earlier in the month, the hospital ship USNS Comfort—crewed by members of the union’s Government Services Division—returned to Baltimore following a deployment to the New Orleans area.
Additionally, the Seafarers Disaster Relief Fund gave assistance to hundreds of members and their families (see sidebar), while the Seafarers Pension Plan and the NMU Benefit Plans, respectively, approved a supplemental payment to eligible retirees.
In Beaumont, Texas, the SIU-crewed Cape Vincent and Cape Victory were dubbed “Noah’s Arks” by the Associated Press after the Ready Reserve Force ships took aboard police dogs as well as substantial numbers of emergency equipment and personnel during Hurricane Rita.
They weren’t the only SIU-crewed ships to provide shelter to animals. The U.S. Military Sealift Command reported that mariners from the USNS Bellatrix helped Louisiana veterinarians save orphaned pets in New Orleans’ St. Bernard parish, an area devastated by Hurricane Katrina. The 946-foot fast sealift ship returned to Louisiana soon after Katrina to join relief efforts.
In their spare time, the 27 civilian mariners (including SIU members) who crew the Bellatrix used various supplies and spare parts to build cages and shelters for more than 300 cats and dogs separated from their owners. Mariners volunteered to walk and groom the homeless pets.
The ship also took on relief workers—17 U.S. Marines from the 4th Civil Affairs Group, based in Washington, D.C., two Navy doctors and 10 local veterinarians and vet assistants.
When the outer bands of Hurricane Rita struck the New Orleans area Sept. 24, the Bellatrix housed five sick canines in the ship’s massive cargo hold. The homeless pets were sheltered from the wind and rain and received medical attention from vets during the storm.
The ship is usually kept in reduced operating status in Violet, La.
At the SIU hall in Mobile, Ala., the union offered its facility as a staging area for members of the United Food and Commercial Workers who had transported relief supplies from Philadelphia.
“We appreciate the Seafarers putting us up,” stated Wendell Young, business agent for UFCW Local 1776. “Our members are grateful.”
At least two SIU-contracted companies, Crowley and Express Marine, donated relief supplies and had them scheduled for delivery to the SIU hall in Harvey, La., which is near New Orleans.
“Certainly the recovery will take years, but in the short run there is light at the end of the tunnel,” noted SIU New Orleans Port Agent Steve Judd. “All the employees are back at the hall, functioning like normal. The office is normal. Outside the hall, there are still plenty of reminders that it’s not normal overall. It’s not pictures on a TV screen to us.”
Judd said that family members of a number of Seafarers lost their lives in the first hurricane, bringing the devastation into tragic focus.
As in other national tragedies, however, the professional and humane response from SIU members has been hard to overlook. As previously reported, Seafarers in the New Orleans area were among the first to provide assistance to hurricane victims. In at least one case they provided invaluable assistance to local medical personnel, relief workers and members of the National Guard before any other help was available.
Upon reporting to the Texas A&M training vessel Sirius, activated for Katrina relief, Seafarers performed at a level that caught the attention of the ship’s master.
“The 41 crew members from the SIU and AMO have been outstanding,” noted Captain Sam Stephenson. “I have never sailed with such a hard-working crew that has been so mission-focused. In four days, two months of work was accomplished.
“SIU crew members did whatever it took to make sure the Sirius was ready to sail on time,” he continued. “The maritime unions of the United States have pulled together for our fellow citizens in distress and it makes me proud to be part of the U.S. Merchant Marine, working with some of the finest mariners in the country thanks to the SIU.”
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