When Tankers International chief executive Charlie Grey and other members of the shipping community landed in Sierra Leone for a “vision trip” to visit one of Mercy Ships’ hospital vessels, they received a more colourful welcome than expected.
A military coup in Freetown on arrival was not part of the plan, but luckily the team had brought with them a secret weapon — London Cargo Day chairman and Scorpio Tankers chief commercial officer Lars Dencker-Nielsen.
Force of nature Dencker-Neilsen sprang into action and the team along, with some of the medics for the ship Global Mercy, somehow won an army escort to a local hotel for the night and onwards to the port for the following morning.
But Grey said the unscheduled hotel night — with some of their “new army friends” — gave an opportunity to hear stories from the doctors, surgeons, nurses and crew camping out with them and their dedication to the charity.
“When we finally made it to the ship, I think we all knew we would witness something that would change our lives forever,” he said.
Grey was speaking at a reception in London to introduce and promote the work of Mercy Ships to the shipping community.
He was introduced by Mercy Ships director of philanthropy Shree Junk, who said this year’s annual gala dinner — which she dubbed the brainchild of the late Tim Webb — will be held in Geneva on 19 September.
Along with the existing five Cargo Day committees globally, Junk revealed that Mercy Ships is exploring three more, in Greece, Dubai and Denmark.
- Nine out of 10 people in sub-Saharan Africa lack access to surgery.
- Two ships operated by 3,000 volunteers: The Africa Mercy will be in Madagascar from February 2024 to December 2025. The Global Mercy will be in Sierra Leone from September 2024 to June 2025.
- $9.2m raised over eight years from more than 200 shipping and trading companies.
- $2.2m raised by over 80 companies on Cargo Day 2023: 60 Mercy Cargoes, 14 addressed commissions, 44 straight donations involving 28 charterers, 25 shipbrokers, 29 shipowners, four port agents, and three consulting and other shipping companies.
- Five Cargo Day committees: Geneva, US, London, Singapore and Rotterdam.
Grey described the London committee as “wonderfully productive but slightly dysfunctional” and thanked Dencker-Nielsen for putting together “a bunch of misfits”, adding that he is very proud to be one of them.
He also praised Webb, who he first met as “a very charming and persuasive broker” when the now Tankers International boss was in his late 20s, for encouraging him to join the London Cargo Day committee.
Grey said the shipping community would not have raised a fraction of what it has done for Mercy Ships if it had not been for Webb.
He said Cargo Day has become an important date in the shipping calendar. But Junk has said to him that every day could be Cargo Day.
Grey revealed that Tankers International and Mercy Ships will be organising a London Maritime Walk in September, starting at Tankers International’s offices and travelling past some key marine sites in the capital before finishing at the iconic clipper ship, the Cutty Sark, in Greenwich.
Sahara Energy International Geneva head of chartering David Walker, who takes over Webb’s role as chairman of the Cargo Day Geneva committee, stressed — to some laughter — that there was no fundraising competition between the Swiss and UK arms.
Fresh from the Geneva committee’s first meeting with him in the chair, he said Webb would want them to “go kick arse”.
Walker said there were more than 430 people at the gala dinner in 2023 but that could be doubled if all the different sectors in shipping got involved. He urged people to dig deep and spread the word.
Two more vision trips are planned, to the Mercy Ships vessels in Madagascar in October and Sierra Leone in February.
