Working With the Inland Maritime Industry to Find Solutions to Mariner Well-being

In this The Waterways Journal article, Phil Schifflin, Esq. Director of SCI’s Center for Mariner Advocacy, outlines how the Seamen’s Church Institute is moving from identifying challenges facing inland mariners to developing practical, collaborative solutions. Building on the U.S. Inland Mariner Wellness Assessment and its companion publication, SCI identifies three pathways for action: health and safety, human resources, and chaplaincy.

Concerning health and safety, SCI plans to convene vessel operators, healthcare professionals, researchers, and other partners to identify priority research questions grounded in the realities of inland maritime operations. The human resources pathway focuses on learning from existing industry practices, making wellness resources easier for mariners to understand and access, and reducing stigma around seeking help. The chaplaincy pathway builds on SCI’s Ministry on the River, using trusted relationships and direct engagement with mariners to learn what has been working, better understand emerging needs, and share those insights with the industry.

The article’s central message is that improving mariner wellness requires industry-wide collaboration. SCI sees its role as bringing people together, sharing what is already working, building consensus, and helping translate the Assessment’s findings into practical approaches that improve mariners’ health, safety, and well-being.