The Seamen’s Church Institute is dedicated to Championing the Mariner. In the Port of New York & New Jersey, the largest port on North America’s East Coast, chaplains and support personnel provide pastoral care via ship visits, offer transportation services for seafarers, and extend hospitality at our award-winning International Seafarers’ Center.

In America’s heartland, SCI is on call 24/7 to respond to the urgent needs of mariners along the nation’s inland waterways and river systems with a corps of highly trained chaplains skilled in critical incident stress management and suicide intervention. In addition, SCI maintains two campuses providing continuing maritime education to captains, masters, and pilots who navigate the river system, Gulf Intercoastal Waterway, and Houston Ship Channel. SCI-Houston and SCI-Paducah operate state-of-the-art maritime multi-bridge Kongsberg and Transas simulators, and conduct feasibility studies designed to enhance safety for both the mariner and the maritime environment. Our Center for Mariner Advocacy, formerly the Center for Seafarers’ Rights, located in New Orleans protects and advocates for seafarer and mariner rights, and their occupational and mental health.

SCI at a Glance*

The Port of New York & New Jersey

• 10,000+ seafarers visited on-board ship by SCI Chaplains
• 1,500+ vessels visited by SCI Chaplains
• 15,000+ seafarers provided with free transportation in SCI vans
• 25,000+ seafarers, port, and transportation workers visited SCI’s International Seafarers’ Center

Ministry on the River

• 1000+ mariners and maritime workers assisted by SCI Chaplains
• 250+ underway vessels visited by SCI Chaplains

Maritime Education

• 2,000+ mariners received training at SCI-Paducah and SCI-Houston
• 9,000+ mariners received online maritime education training through SCI eLearning

Mariner Advocacy

• Legal issues addressed include, among others: Maritime Security and Shore Leave; Environmental Crimes; Piracy; Abandonment
• Health issues addressed: Suicide Prevention Awareness; Occupational Health issues such as fatigue, COVID-19, and physical and mental risk analysis, among others (in conjunction with the Yale Maritime Research Institute of Yale University’s School of Occupational Medicine)

Over 90% of world trade is carried by sea and inland waterways, providing stable employment to more than a million seafarers and mariners.

At the end of the day, The World Depends on Mariners. Mariners Depend on SCI. And SCI Depends on You.

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*annually