Stella Maris Batam affirmed its commitment to not only being a center of pastoral care for seafarers and fishers but also actively driving collaborative efforts within Indonesia’s maritime ecosystem. This was conveyed by Stella Maris Batam Director, Fr. Ansensius Guntur, CS, at the National Discussion Forum entitled « Maritime Sector Worker Issues: Challenges and Solutions » held at the Indonesian Bishops’ Conference (KWI) Building in Central Jakarta on Wednesday (May 13, 2026).
This activity, which is a collaboration between Stella Maris Batam and the Working Body of the Indonesian Catholic Community Forum (BP FMKI), brings together various stakeholders across sectors, ranging from the government, the Indonesian House of Representatives, the National Human Rights Commission, international organizations, trade unions, CSOs, academics, to national Catholic community organizations.
In his opening remarks, Fr. Ansensius Guntur elaborated that Stella Maris Batam is part of the international Stella Maris network, which officially launched in Batam in 2022 to serve seafarers, fishers and their families. The name « Stella Maris » itself means « Star of the Sea, » a symbol of hope and guidance for sailors navigating the vast oceans.
« Stella Maris Batam not only provides ‘Home Far Away From Home’ pastoral care for docked ship crews, but also strives to be part of Indonesia’s maritime ecosystem, so that it can contribute to the protection of seafarers and fishers, » said Father Ansensius in his presentation.
He explained that Stella Maris Batam is connected to the Stella Maris International network which has more than 300 service centers worldwide. 14 of them are under the management of Scalabrinian Missionaries and serve around 70 thousand crew members from 74 countries every year.
Over the past two years, Stella Maris Batam has implemented various service and advocacy programs. In the area of raising public awareness, Stella Maris Batam held 14 seminars from 2025 to 2026, with a total of 2,544 participants and a media reach out of over 40,000.
In addition to public education, Stella Maris Batam is also active in policy advocacy related to maritime worker issues. Key issues promoted include the ratification of ILO C188, crew placement governance, communication and internet access for crew members, the establishment of welfare committees at ports, and encouraging increased crew change at Indonesian ports.
At the forum, Stella Maris Batam also presented various cases they have assisted with. As of April 2026, 58 reports had been received, with the majority of cases involving unpaid wages. Furthermore, there were cases of crew members being victimized by drug smuggling, immigration issues, and crew life insurance issues.
Beyond focusing solely on maritime workers, Stella Maris Batam also develops a Family Empowerment program for seafarers’ families. This program includes family mentoring, financial literacy, legal literacy, digital literacy, and strengthening communication within seafarers’ families.
Fr. Ansensius Guntur emphasized that the complexity of maritime workers’ issues cannot be resolved by one party alone. Therefore, Stella Maris Batam encourages cross-sector collaboration involving the government, churches, international organizations, labor unions, civil society, the media, and industry players.
Present at this forum were Rinardi (Director General of Protection at Ministry of Protection of Indonesian Migrant Workers), Yulius Setiarto (Congressman), Anis Hidayah (National Commission on Human Rights), Father Yohanes Kurnianto Jeharut (Executive Secretary of Indonesian Episcopal Commission on Lay People), Father Marthen LP Jenarut (Executive Secretary of ECMI), Albert Bona Sahat (ILO Indonesia), Capt Marcellus Hakeng (Maritime Observer) CSOs (IOJI, IOM, HRWG, etc.) union representatives (SPPI, SBMI, etc.), National Catholic Organizations (WKRI, Catholic Youth, ISKA, etc.), Ministry of Transportation, human rights activists and public figures.
Fr. Ansensius Guntur, CS