Princess Royal attends Mission to Seafarers' reception at Belfast Harbour Office
HRH The Princess Royal, worldwide President of The Mission to Seafarers, was guest of honour at a reception hosted by the Mission.
HRH The Princess Royal, worldwide President of The Mission to Seafarers, was guest of honour at a reception hosted by the Mission at Belfast Harbour Office.
On arrival the royal visitor was greeted by Mr Jim McDonald CBE LVO KCSG DL, Deputy Lieutenant of the County Borough of Belfast, and went on to meet Mr Robert Ferris OBE, Chairman, Mission to Seafarers (Northern Ireland) who accompanied HRH during the visit.
Established in Belfast in 1860, the Mission to Seafarers now welcomes thousands of seafarers each year. The Princess Royal has a long association with the organisation which numbers her father, the Duke of Edinburgh, among its previous Presidents.
The princess launched an appeal in 1987 to help defray the costs of the new Belfast Centre, raising £107k. She also opened the new centre in 1988 and returned in May 1992 to open the Hurst Extension. The centre provides a satellite computer telephone system, a bespoke international telephone card, internet and E-Mail facilities and a ‘next-to-new’ clothes shop.
Later, in the Barnett Room, the princess met around 100 invited guests attending a reception in honour of the visit and had the opportunity to speak with representatives from Belfast Harbour Commissioners, corporate sponsors, financiers, shipping agents, stevedores, agricultural compounders, importers/exporters, mission secretaries, fundraisers and volunteers.
Following a few words of thanks from Mr Robert Ferris, he invited The Princess Royal to sign the Mission to Seafarers and Harbour Commissioners’ visitors’ books prior to departure.
Notes to Editors
Upon arrival HRH was greeted by the Deputy Lieutenant of the County Borough of Belfast, Mr Jim McDonald CBE LVO KCSG DL, and went on to meet:
Alderman Ruth Patterson, The Deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast
Dr Ian Adamson OBE, Sheriff for the County Borough of Belfast
Mr Peter McNaney, Chief Executive, Belfast City Council
Mr Robert Ferris OBE, Chairman, Mission to Seafarers (Northern Ireland)
The Reverend Colin Hall-Thompson, Senior Chaplin and Provincial Secretary, Mission to Seafarers (Northern Ireland) and
Mr Roy Adair, Chief Executive Officer, Belfast Harbour.
The Mission to Seafarers
The Mission to Seafarers serves seafarers of all nationalities and beliefs working through a network of full-time and part-time ship visitors, centre staff chaplains and voluntary helpers in more than 230 ports around the world. It also runs seafarers’ centres in more than 100 ports. It is entirely dependent on voluntary contributions. You can read more information on the Mission to Seafarers website.