In Memory of Those Who Never Returned Home
By Moncio Robert Wilmot Kpadeh
Today, the sea is quiet.
We pause the engines.
We lower our voices.
We bow our heads.
And we offer prayers of illumination.
Somewhere beyond the horizon, the waves carry the memory of brave men and women who sailed from home with the hope of returning—but never did.
They were seafarers.
Fathers and mothers.
Sons and daughters.
Husbands and wives.
Brothers, sisters, friends, and colleagues.
Citizens of nations.
They sailed to serve humanity—to connect nations and carry the lifeblood of global commerce across the world’s oceans.
But in the darkness of conflict, the sea became a place of terror.
Rockets tore through the night.
Drones descended from the skies.
Projectiles struck vessels carrying innocent mariners.
Some watched their colleagues fall.
Some cried for help.
Some never had the chance to say goodbye.
Their final voyage was not the expected call to another port.
It was into eternity, a fate unexpected.
And somewhere today, a mother waits.
A child asks when daddy is coming home.
A wife listens for footsteps of her husband that will never come.
For these families, the sea will never sound the same again.
Today, we remember every seafarer who lost their life in the Middle East crisis; those wounded, those who continue to sail through danger, and the families who carry the pain of their loss.
They were not soldiers.
They were not combatants.
They were mariners on whose steel shoulders the weight of global trade and commerce relies.
They carried no weapons of war. They carried food, fuel, medicine, machinery, and the necessities upon which nations depend.
Yet they became victims of conflicts not of their making.
This must never become normal.
Seafarers must not be the target in an any way.
Merchant ships are not warships.
The oceans must not become corridors of death.
Maritime law must be respected.
The right to freedom of navigation must be upheld.
Civilian vessels and their crews must be protected.
Freedom of navigation is more than a principle written in law—it is a lifeline of global commerce and a bridge connecting humanity.
Behind every ship are human beings, with families waiting for them.
Therefore, the protection of seafarers must never be an afterthought.
Their lives matter.
Their safety matters.
Their families matter.
Let the sacrifice of the fallen awaken the conscience of the world and strengthen our resolve to protect those who sail in the service of humanity.
And when ships sail tomorrow, may we remember those who cannot sail with us.
May their names live in the hearts of all mariners.
May their memories remain upon the waters.
May their families find comfort and strength.
To the fallen:
You sailed so the world could remain connected.
You gave the ultimate sacrifice with grace and grit.
We will remember you.
Thank you and thank you.
To you, we doff our hats and tip our hearts.
And the sea?
the sea will remember you forever.
Fair winds, brave souls.
Following seas.
And eternal safe harbor.
May you rest peacefully beneath the everlasting horizon.
ADIOS!
