Building Seafarers’ Ministry in Latin America: An Interview with Fr. Ian Hutchinson Cervantes

During a recent visit to Panama, we had the opportunity to spend time with Fr. Ian Hutchinson Cervantes, Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean with The Mission to Seafarers. Over the course of a week, it was a joy to learn from him and his colleagues about the realities of seafarers’ welfare in this region. In our conversation, Fr. Ian shared his journey into maritime ministry, the challenges of serving in Latin America, and the importance of international collaboration in supporting seafarers.
Dr. Jason Zuidema (NAMMA): Father Ian, how did you end up being here in Panama, working for the Mission to Seafarers?
Fr. Ian Hutchinson Cervantes: I came here because I met the previous Secretary General of the Mission to Seafarers at a conference in the UK, and he asked me to undertake a review of some of the chaplaincies in the region, largely because I speak Spanish and Portuguese, and I also know the countries where the chaplaincies are located. So I did that review for the Mission to Seafarers. Following that, I was invited to apply for the post of Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean, and to come to Panama to begin setting in place pastoral care and welfare services for seafarers.
Dr. Jason Zuidema (NAMMA): In a thumbnail sketch, what did you find in your study of the region? What were the main findings of your research?
Fr. Ian Hutchinson Cervantes: I visited port chaplaincies in Brazil. What struck me most was how isolated the ports are from major urban centers. One in particular, Vila do Conde, is up a tributary of the Amazon River, with vessels sitting out at anchorage in stifling, humid heat for two or three weeks at a time as they wait for a berth. When they finally come into port, there is nowhere to go, nothing to do, and nobody there to offer friendship or hospitality.
So, yes, isolated port chaplaincies—but with extraordinary people trying to make a difference for seafarers and offering a ministry of hospitality and friendship. I found that hugely inspiring.
Dr. Jason Zuidema (NAMMA): Since you’ve begun as Regional Director, what have been the key accomplishments?
Fr. Ian Hutchinson Cervantes: Very good question. In terms of Panama, where I function as a port chaplain, I started on my own and then had the great joy and blessing of colleagues coming alongside. From a one-man band doing fairly basic ministry, we now have a team.
As you saw today when we went to the Maritime Authority, we are now able to go into places and encounter gatekeepers, decision makers, and policy makers. If not to influence decisions—because that may be too grand a claim—at least to offer suggestions and encourage a slightly different way of looking at things. That has been a great source of joy to me. I don’t claim any merit; I’ve simply been fortunate to be in the right place at the right time and to encounter people who absolutely get it.
In the wider region, I would point to the new chaplaincy in Puerto Limón, Costa Rica. This was the dream of a retired Anglican priest in the Diocese of Costa Rica, whose son is a seafarer. He approached us saying, “We need to do something.” We were able to come alongside him and help get something started where there had been nothing. Now his daughter, recently ordained a deacon, is taking over and developing that ministry further.
Another example is the port of Açu in Brazil, where Anglo American, the mining company, expressed a desire for pastoral care and welfare services for the crews manning their ships. They have assisted us by funding a significant portion of the costs. This has enabled us to pioneer, as a mission agency, a model of partnership with the industry to serve seafarers in a port that otherwise would have been forgotten.
Dr. Jason Zuidema (NAMMA): In regions like North America or Europe, there are long-established seafarers’ welfare organizations. What are the challenges here in Latin America that people in those regions might not even believe if you told them?
Fr. Ian Hutchinson Cervantes: There are several, and they are by no means overcome. First, there is sheer ignorance—not in a pejorative sense, but simply a lack of knowledge about the needs of seafarers. In this region, very little is offered to them. There are some well-established port chaplaincies on the Atlantic coast of South America, but there is nothing on the Pacific coast—nothing at all in Peru, Chile, or Ecuador. Seafarers are assumed to be ordinary workers like anyone else, and the particular challenges they face are not recognized. That lack of awareness, and with it a lack of empathy or compassion, is one of the greatest challenges.
Second, in this part of the world, we are not accustomed to volunteering as in the English-speaking world, nor to giving to “charity.” The expectation is often to receive charity from outside—particularly the United States, Canada, or Europe—not to put our own hands in our pockets and contribute. Overcoming that cultural barrier is very hard.
Third, the distances. You can fit pretty much the whole of Europe into Brazil, and then add Argentina, Peru, Chile, and other countries. The distances between chaplaincies are vast, and travel within the region is very expensive. Offering pastoral care, encouragement, and resources to isolated chaplains is a huge challenge. One of my joys and goals is to identify people who are vocationally motivated and to come alongside them, nurturing their vocations and equipping them with the tools they need. That’s why the NAMMA course in Houston is so important for us—it gives our people the chance to equip themselves for ministry.
Dr. Jason Zuidema (NAMMA): One last question. In the past, South American missions were tied closely to European headquarters. Increasingly, there are more connections to North America. How has it been useful for you to be connected to NAMMA?
Fr. Ian Hutchinson Cervantes: We have a saying in Spanish that something falls by its own weight—it is just obvious. For example, a significant percentage of vessels coming through the Canal sail from the Atlantic seaboard of North America to the Pacific seaboard, or from the East Coast of North America to Chile and Peru to get minerals like lithium, copper, and timber. There is a constant flow between North and South America.
So it is the most obvious thing in the world that if we are engaged in seafarers’ welfare—care, companionship, hospitality, diaconal ministry—then North, Central, and South America should be in constant contact with each other. We can refer people, vessels, and crews to one another. That continuity of care can be life-saving, as we saw during the pandemic when mental health challenges were widespread in the maritime industry.
I still visit a crew whose vessel calls in Panama and sails all the way to Tauranga, New Zealand. During the pandemic, they were desperate for vaccines. They couldn’t get them in Panama or anywhere else. I contacted the Mission to Seafarers in New Zealand, and they immediately organized vaccinations with the Ministry of Health. The crew still thank me for that single email. That is why this collaboration is so important.
Dr. Jason Zuidema (NAMMA): That’s a poignant remark to end on. Thank you so much, Father Ian, for your insight and hospitality here in Panama.
Fr. Ian Hutchinson Cervantes: Pleasure. It’s been a joy.
Photo: Fr. Ian with a seafarer on Seafarers’ Mission Panama Facebook.