On 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 Moreby Evan Brown Director, Communications In September 2025, SCI’s Center for Maritime Education joined industry peers on the island of Terschelling, Netherlands, for the Kongsberg Maritime’s International Simulation User Conference. Now in its 17th year, the conference brought together 185 delegates from more than a dozen nations (pictured above) and was hosted in partnership with […]
Read MoreIn November 2025 edition of SCI’s biannual magazine, The Lookout, we sit down with Robert Sappio, CEO of SeaCube Containers, to discuss leadership, innovation, and the evolving culture of the maritime industry. Sappio reflects on the mentors who shaped his career, his philosophy on organizational culture, and the future of shipping in a technology-driven, decarbonizing […]
Read Moreby Bridgit Patterson Communications Associate October 1, 2015, is a date forever etched in the minds of those in the U.S. maritime industry as it marks the tragic loss of thirty-three lives when the SS El Faro succumbed to the devastating force of Hurricane Joaquin, sinking 40 nautical miles northeast of Crooked Island, Bahamas, during […]
Read MoreStefan Dreisbach-Williams Archivist The Seamen’s Church Institute’s mission almost always focuses on the living. When we encounter death at sea, our efforts are most often channeled toward meeting and tending to the survivors: the crew who remain, or the friends and families left behind. As we reflect on the tenth anniversary of the El Faro […]
Read MoreThe Rev. Mark Nestlehutt President & Executive Director Global shipping remains the foundation of international commerce, yet the well-being of the workforce behind this vast network—seafarers—appears to be under increasing strain. The Seamen’s Church Institute’s International Seafarers Center has noted a year-to-date decrease in offvessel seafarer transportation, as well as reports of decreases in shore […]
Read MoreSCI’s President and Executive Director, the Rev. Mark Nestlehutt, together with members of our CME team, participated in this year’s Kongsberg Global Simulation User Conference in Terschelling, Netherlands, from September 16-18, 2025. The event highlights how advanced simulation solutions can enhance maritime education and training, build competence, support decision-making, and promote more sustainable operations. Over […]
Read MoreThe Seamen’s Church Institute (SCI) and Rotterdam-based KOTUG Training & Consultancy (KTC) have renewed their strategic partnership to broaden access to world-class maritime training opportunities for U.S. mariners. Through its Center for Maritime Education—with locations in Paducah, Kentucky, and Houston, Texas—SCI is a national leader in simulation-based maritime training. Under the renewed agreement, SCI will […]
Read MoreMatt Morse, Director of SCI’s International Seafarers’ Center, recently represented the Seamen’s Church Institute at the 2025 annual meeting of the Gemini Shippers Association. He attended at the invitation of Gemini President and CEO Ken O’Brien (also President and CEO of Bluspark Global) and Daria Kilkeary, Director of Enterprise Sales and Consulting at Bluspark Global. […]
Read MoreOn October 16, 2025, the SCI office in Paducah hosted a special visit from the Episcopal Diocese of Kentucky, including Bishop the Rt. Rev. Terry Allen White, which was coordinated and facilitated by the Rev. Grace Pardun, Supervisory Chaplain for SCI’s Ministry on the River. The day began in the lecture hall, where Pardun introduced […]
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