In 2025, more than 75% of crisis responses by SCI’s Ministry on the River Chaplains were related to physical or mental health issues, with only 23% connected to accidents. Mariners faced challenges including heart attacks, extreme fatigue, anxiety, depression, substance use, and suicidal thoughts—signs of a deepening wellness crisis within the inland maritime community. As […]
Read MorePhil Schifflin, Esq., Director of SCI’s Center for Mariner Advocacy, regularly attends maritime industry events to better understand the issues currently affecting mariners. Most recently, Phil attended the International WorkBoat Show on December 3 in New Orleans, Louisiana. One of the largest commercial marine trade shows in North America, the event attracts thousands of professionals […]
Read MoreThe 2025 River Bell Awards Luncheon, one of the inland maritime industry’s most prominent annual gatherings, was held in Paducah on December 11. This year’s luncheon welcomed 634 attendees, setting a new River Bell record, as the community came together to celebrate the industry and recognize outstanding leadership and service. Congratulations to our award recipients […]
Read MoreOn Thursday, October 30, students and faculty from San Jacinto Maritime College gathered in La Porte, TX, to volunteer at the Seamen’s Church Institute’s (SCI) annual Christmas at Sea on the River packing event. Under the coordination of SCI Chaplain Nancy Simpson and San Jac’s Capt. Amy Arrowood, participants packed and labeled 2,745 hand-knit and […]
Read MoreA Message of Honesty and Hope By the Rev. Grace Pardun, SCI Supervisory Chaplain, Ministry on the River When I meet with mariners on the river, I am constantly reminded of their incredible resilience. They work long days in unpredictable weather, managing dangerous equipment, separated from family, and through this, often carrying burdens no one else can see. At the […]
Read MoreBuilding on the success of previous years, KOTUG and SCI’s Center for Maritime Education (CME) once again joined forces in Houston to deliver an intensive and highly practical training program for KOTUG’s Tug Masters and Buckeye Bahamas Hub’s Pilots operating in Freeport, Grand Bahamas. A notable update to this year’s curriculum was the close collaboration […]
Read MoreThe Rev. Nancy Simpson — Chaplain, Ministry on the River, Houston Ship Channel & Gulf Coast Region From the June 2025 Quarterly Activity Report Before I began my calling as a Chaplain with the Seamen’s Church Institute, moving from one ministry to another, my bishop offered a simple reminder: keep singing. I had sung in […]
Read Moreby the Rev. Grace Pardun Supervisory Chaplain, Ministry on the River, Upper Mississippi & Ohio River Region From the June 2025 Quarterly Activity Report On Good Friday, when many of us are preparing for the holiest weekend of the church year, I got a phone call from a maritime company. A well-loved shoreside staffer, who […]
Read MorePrecision Meets Purpose with SCI’s Maritime Simulator Training SCI’s Center for Maritime Education recently welcomed the “M/V Eagle Vellore”, a custom-built VLCC ship model, to our Houston simulation facility. Developed in collaboration with the Maritime Simulation and Resource Centre (MSRC) in Quebec, this high-fidelity simulation is slated to support training for AET’s Ship-to-Ship Lightering Mooring […]
Read MoreThe Center for Maritime Education (CME) in Paducah recently hosted representatives from the Alexander-Cairo Port District and the engineering firm BFW/Marcum to conduct feasibility studies for a proposed port terminal on the western side of Cairo, IL, along the Mississippi River. Approved for construction in 2020, this state-of-the-art, multi-modal terminal will better facilitate the transport […]
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