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Chaplain offers a friendly face for visitors all at sea

Profile of Tim Bell, the port chaplain at Leith Docks in Edinburgh. Tim grew up in North Northumberland - "God's country," he chuckles - and moved to Leith in 1980, when he joined North Leith Parish Church.

The former teacher and social worker then gained a Bachelor of Divinity with honours at Edinburgh University in 1994 before started his work as a chaplain. Formerly at Saughton Prison, he took up his new post last year

The 61-year-old spent ten days at sea last November as part of a two-week trip on the Russian cargo ship MV Adventure II, which regularly carries 23,000 tonnes of coal from the Baltic port of Vysotsk, near St Petersburg, to Leith.

For the 20-strong crew, the 2400-mile round trip is undertaken to deliver Russian coal, used to fuel Cockenzie Power Station. For Mr Bell, however, it provided a unique opportunity to find out more about life on the high seas for the Filipino workforce who make their living on the Russian boats.

The story of Tim's journey with the crew of MV Adventure II will be told in the BBC Radio Scotland documentary Kirk on the Quayside, airing on Sunday at 8.30am.

Full story at Edinburgh Evening News.