10 April 2025
Whether it's providing emergency glasses, taking seafarers to photograph an old English church, or simply offering a friendly face, Mark and the QVSR team provide practical and spiritual support to those who spend their lives bringing goods to British shores.
Located in the Lincolnshire Methodist District, The Post of Immingham handles more cargo than any other port in the UK.
Mark sees some of his role as a return to the Methodist Church's roots of mission. "It is going back to its origins." In post since October 2023, Mark coordinates a team of paid and volunteer chaplains who conduct ship visits. The Port of Immingham is the UK’s largest port by tonnage, handling around 46 million tonnes of cargo every year.
Wearing mandatory safety gear – metal toe boots, glasses, helmet, gloves and high-vis jackets – they navigate the hazardous environment of a working port to reach crews aboard vessels. "The most dangerous part of ship visiting is embarking and disembarking," Mark explains.
Once aboard, Mark and his team check on the seafarers' welfare, telling them about the centre's facilities, and offer practical assistance like SIM cards and Wi-Fi units. Sometimes the conversations turn to pastoral support. "It's not an evangelistic opportunity," Mark emphasises. "Sometimes they just want someone to talk to, especially after months at sea."
Like many QVSR centres, Immingham offers a shop with non-perishable items, souvenirs, a restaurant, a games room and a chapel with a unique font: a hard hat such as the one seafarers wear. Mark had the idea from a friend who was using soldiers’ helmets to baptise them: “It goes from being a symbol of their physical protection to their spiritual protection.”
Seafarers come from all around the world, working under challenging conditions for months at a time, with shore leave sometimes being treated as a privilege rather than a right. Some crews might be docked for days before being granted permission to leave the vessel – sometimes for as little as an hour.
"I know I only had an hour, but I enjoyed that hour," one seafarer told Mark after a brief visit to the centre where he bought souvenirs, chocolate and even enjoyed a pint before returning to his ship.”
QVSR provides a vital sanctuary for seafarers, offering transport to local shops, a comfortable place to relax, and most importantly, a human connection. The centre also distributes "bags of joy" at Christmas – similar to the shoeboxes for children but filled with items like woolly hats, gloves and toiletries for adults.
