Mission ship Logos Hope, known as the “world’s largest floating bookfair”, has been visiting the Caribbean region to bring the hope of Jesus by engaging with residents and communities across the islands.
Renowned for providing access to a wide variety of affordable literature, Logos Hope also donates books and facilitates cultural exchanges. Events on the Visitor Experience Deck allow locals to engage with the ship’s crew and mission.
Edward David, managing director of Logos Hope who first served on the ship when it visited Malaysia in 1987, told Christian Daily International that the literary offering bolstered positive efforts to engage with local populations and share the Christian faith.
“The Caribbean region's high literacy rate and hunger for good books make our presence here crucial,” David said. “We've consistently seen individuals and institutions, like the national library, eagerly purchasing books in bulk from us. Our affordable prices ensure that literature is accessible to people from all walks of life, despite the economic challenges posed by recent hurricanes.”
David highlighted the shop with 5,000 titles catering to diverse interests, including science, sports, hobbies, cookery, arts, medicine, and languages alongside children’s titles and academic works. However, the books form only part of the support offered by the crew on board.
“Our mission, ‘Sharing knowledge, Help and Hope,’ goes beyond providing books,” David pointed out. “As a community on board, we're eager to serve the local community through practical services, such as cleaning, painting, vision testing, construction. We're always looking to partner with local organizations to make a meaningful impact.
“In fact, during our visit to Tobago, we're partnering with Tabitha House [a women’s refuge] to work on a building project. We believe that hope is essential for thriving communities, and we strive to bring hope to every port we visit. By sharing our faith and promoting purposeful living, good values, and restored relationships, we aim to make a lasting difference in the region.”
The vessel that is operated by Good Books for All (GBA) Ships and run by Operation Mobilisation (OM) first arrived in the Port of Bridgetown in Barbados at the end of November, after 12 days sailing across the Atlantic from its previous outreach journey to coastal communities in Africa. Following Barbados, Logos Hope docked in Scarborough, Tobago (Dec. 11-21) and is currently at Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, from Dec. 27 to Jan. 26.
Logos Hope last visited Tobago in Nov. 2021. The original Logos ship was bought in 1970 and that vessel and successive ships from the GBA Ships ministry have visited 480 ports in 150 countries, with 50 million visitors on board, practically showing God’s compassion by engaging with local communities.
Logos Hope replaced Logos II and was originally created by shipwrights as a car ferry called Gustav Vasa working between Malmö in Sweden and Travemünde in northern Germany in 1973. It was ultimately sold to GBA Ships in March 2004, refitted and launched as “Logos Hope” in Feb. 2009, for the purposes of OM Christian mission activities across the world.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, who died aged 100 on Dec. 29, previously expressed his wonder at the work of Logos II, when he visited the vessel in Swansea, Wales, UK in 1995.
“You have my admiration for living together in harmony, because you demonstrate that people who have different styles of life and different languages and different ethnic backgrounds can still live together,” Carter said, at the time. “Let me express my deep admiration and thanks for the wonderful work that you do.”
Logos Hope is scheduled to visit Vieux Fort, Saint Lucia, from Jan. 29 to Feb. 19. Additional stops in the Caribbean for 2025 include St. George’s, Grenada, from Feb. 20 to March 11; Oranjestad, Aruba, from March 13 to April 8; and Willemstad, Curacao, from April 8 to May 1. The ship will also dock in Kingstown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, from May 29 to June 17, before returning to Saint Lucia, this time in Castries, from June 17 to July 1.
