The crew of a Portuguese ship in St. John’s harbour knows all too well how dangerous a life at sea can be, and paying respects to fallen fishermen this week hits close to home. The Viana Do Castelo arrived in port yesterday. The ship’s weapons and electronics engineer, Raul Machado, says his ship conducts search and rescue missions, and says the memorial service is personal – because the crew has been known to do search and rescue missions.
He says there used to be many stories of life lost at sea in Portugal. The ship’s crew takes its job very seriously to minimize loss of life.
Every year, a Portuguese vessel comes to Mount Carmel Cemetery to pay respects to the fishermen of the Portuguese White Fleet who fished in Newfoundland waters for centuries. One of those fishermen, Dionisio Esteves, who died half a century ago in a fishing accident, is buried in an unmarked grave near other Portuguese and Spanish gravestones where crew members lay flowers each year.