New Danish Church in Malaysia

Mærsk Sealand started using the new harbour in the South of Malaysia about eighteen months ago. As the mission of the Danish Seamen’s Church is “To be present whereever Danish ships go”, it was natural for the Church in Singapore to follow suit. 
Currently, staff from the Church in Singapore visit all ships arriving Tanjong Pelepas without neglecting the ships arriving Singapore. In other words, the Church has managed a double job to serve both harbours.
Unlike Singapore, the harbour in Tanjong Pelepas is located far from any urbanized area. The closest major town is Johor Baruh about 35 kilometers away. And as the seamen are admitted on shore on a socalled crew list, they are not permitted to cross the border between Singapore and Malaysia. 
Consequently, the need to establish onshore rest and relaxation facilities for the seamen has been substantial.
In June, the Danish Seamen’s Church was informed that A. P. Møller og Hustru Chastine Mc-Kinney Møllers Fund for General Purposes had approved the application to support establishing a local subsidiary at the Tanjong Pelepas terminal.
Maersk in Singapore has been positive all along to the application of the Church and recommended the Foundation. With the approval of the application, the new center on the terminal will soon be build. The centre will have daily opening hours where staff from the Church in Singapore will be available. It is the plan to allow the Church subsidiary be open to all seaman arriving the terminal. 
In the future, other Nordic institutions serving seamen overseas might be invited to join in running the centre, but so far the responsiblity rests with the Danish Seamen’s Church in Singapore alone. 
According to the Danish Seamen’s Church in Singapore, the expansion into establishing a subsidiary in Malaysia will at this point not have any negative impact on the level of activity at the Church on Mount Faber in Singapore. What might be expected is, though, that the opening hours of the Church will be adjusted to accomodate the need for staff to be present in Tanjong Pelepas.
Apart from support from the headoffice of the Church in Denmark, the Church is dependent on voluntary contributions from the Danish congregation in Singapore. Given the current status of the Church as the main social gatheringpoint of the Danes in Singapore, it is not likely that this support will diminish.

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