Many seafarers’ centres used to have bars and overnight facilities but shorter time in port and tighter alcohol rules mean beverages are sold in much smaller quantities and only in appropriate locations, says Mission to Seafarers' secretary general Reverend Canon Andrew Wright.
“In many places, we don’t offer beer at all now,” he says.
The downside is that declining alcohol and food sales have erodedsteady income streams that help centres sustain themselves, although this has been partly offset by sales of first phone cards and now SIM cards.
