NEWS RELEASE

World’s oldest ocean-going passenger ship to stop sailing

Mosbach, GERMANY – 20 November, 2009

The ministry of OM’s ship Doulos will come to an end on 31^st December 2009.

Doulos is the world’s oldest ocean-going passenger ship, now 95 years old, with the hull built in 1914, just two years after Titanic. In spite of the all year round maintenance that has taken place, the amount of steel replacement and other repairs needed for her to continue sailing are overwhelming. The ship is presently in Singapore and has been undergoing the annual period of dry dock and surveys.

Early indications are that the work would cost over €10 million and take five months to complete. The OM Ships executive leadership team and board believes that is not appropriate to invest resources of this scale into the ship, since Doulos would have a limited ministry future.

Chief Executive Officer of OM Ships International, Peter Nicoll, said, “The outcome of this is that Doulos will not be able to continue in ministry. This is not what any of us wanted, and has serious consequences for everyone on board, those about to join and for ports we planned to visit.”

“We are committed to operating safe ships and complying with the requirements of our classification society, RINA, as well as the International Safety Management requirements for ships,” affirms Peter Nicoll. “We have been praying that God would use this five-year ‘special survey’ to give us a clear picture of the way forward for Doulos and that He has done.”

The well-being of the 280 crew and staff onboard is of paramount importance. Each person will receive the guidance and support they need to decide what their next steps should be. Some are close to the end of their period of service, while others joined as recently as September.

Keeping the ship compliant with the highest marine standards has been a real challenge over the years. It is a remarkable testimony to the professionalism and dedication of the non-profit organisation’s technical personnel that the ship has continued to meet marine requirements until now.

CEO Peter Nicoll stated, “We recognise God’s faithfulness through these 32 years of wonderful service of the ‘servant’—Doulos—as an outstanding OM ministry, through more than 600 port visits in over 100 countries. Many lives have been transformed, both visitors and those who have served on board.

We are also deeply grateful to our partners around the world who have supported the ship in ministry through the years. Please continue to pray with us as we work on present challenges and seek the Lord for the future.

With Logos Hope now active and exciting ministry taking place, we are investigating possible options to charter another ship in the interim and have already begun working on the Doulos replacement project. Contributions should be given through your local OM office and designated ‘Doulos Project’.

Ken Miller

Director of Communications

OM Ships International

Trinidad & Tobago

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T&T

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Culturas / Cultures

Não podemos negar a beleza de nossa cultura, e como e lindo poder utilizar coisas típicas do nosso amado pais para podermos levar o evangelho adiante.

We cannot deny how beautiful our culture really is, and what a beautiful thing is to be able to use typical things from our beloved country to bring forth the gospel.

O Evangelho / The Gospel

Hoje começamos o dia uma hora antes do planejado, uma longa fila ja estava sendo formada for a do porto, não queríamos deixar as pessoas esperando debaixo de um sol escaldante. Mais de 4 mil pessoas vieram nos visitar hoje e em apenas 4 dias mais de 16 mil pessoas ja receberam o evangelho de uma forma ou de outra. Por favor orem por cada criança que nos visita, cada uma recebe um livreto ilustrando o evangelho de uma forma muito clara. Oremos para que cada uma dessa preciosas crianças sejam tocadas por essa palavra e que não apenas elas mas suas familias venham ao pé da Cruz do nosso Senhor Jesus Cristo.

Today we started the day a little earlier than planned, a long line of people was already waiting for us out side the port gates. We didn't want to leave people waiting under the strong Caribbean sun. More than 4 thousand people came to visit us today and in about 4 days we have had over 16 thousand people received somehow the message of the gospel. Please pray for the children, every one of them receive a booklet about the gospel. Let us pray that not only their lives will be changed but also their families.

Estudantes / School kids

Durante nossa visita a ilha de Tobago tivemos vários programas, mas um que me impactou foi uma visita surpresa de uma escola, 400 estudantes vieram nos visitar, mesmo sem ter um programa agendado nossa tripulação pode rapidamente preparar uma programação e todo puderam ouvir o evangelho, incluindo os professores. Glória a Deus por essa oportunidade, você pode imaginar o que isso pode fazer na vida dessas crianças? Eu me converti com 13 anos, por isso vejo o poder da palavra de Deus, pois eu sei que se não fosse por ela eu não teria esperança para um futuro. Por favor orem para que a palavra de Deus continue agindo nas vidas dessa crianças e que produza o fruto da salvação.

We have many programs during our visit to Tobago, but a special program really impacted me, 400 kids came to visit the ship, no program were prepared for them, but our crew was able to put a program quickly together and the kids and teachers were presented with the gospel. Thanks to God for this opportunity, only God knows what will happen to these kids. I became a believer when I was 13 years old, that is why I see the amazing power of the word of God, I know that if it was not because of His word i would not have the hope I have today. Please keep praying for the word of God to keep producing the fruits of salvation.