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ICMA Leadership Meets in Antwerp

December 20, 2023

The Benefits of SCI’s Partnership with Global Mariner Welfare Organizations. In September 2023, ICMA’s charity trustees and general membership met in Antwerp, Belgium for the association’s Annual General Meeting. The site for these meetings was the architecturally stunning Havenhuis, or Port House, located in the heart of the bustling port. Antwerp, the diamond capital of […]

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Customized Training Content

December 20, 2023

CME works with ARTCo to create an Extensive Video Training Library. In the evolving maritime education landscape, adaptability and innovation are key to ensuring that mariners receive the highest quality training to navigate the complexities of their roles effectively. SCI’s Center for Maritime Education has risen to this challenge, taking a comprehensive step forward through […]

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FIRE, FIRE, FIRE! Abandon Ship!

December 20, 2023

At 9:04 p.m. on Wednesday, July 5, those title words above rang out on the 12th deck of the M/V Grande Costa d’Avorio, while berthed near the Seamen’s Church Institute’s International Seafarers’ Center at Port Newark. The 28 crewmembers from the Philippines, Italy, and Romania, immediately went to their muster stations, where they began fire […]

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Mariner Wellness in the Inland Marine Industry

December 20, 2023

SCI Chaplains regularly interact with mariners in the inland marine industry. Through these interactions, it became clear that mariner wellness was an issue impacting many of these mariners. In order to help address this issue, SCI hosted a roundtable in Paducah, KY in July of 2021. Over twenty people attended, representing a broad cross-section of […]

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CMA DIRECTOR PHIL SCHIFFLIN ATTENDS JOINT IMO/ILO “WORK AT SEA” CONFERENCE

November 17, 2023

At the IMO for the IMO/ILO “Work at Sea” Conference. Pictured (from left to right): the Rev. Paul Trathen, Mission to Seafarers; Dirk Obermann, Deutsche Seemannsmission; Phil Schifflin, Director, SCI Center for Mariner Advocacy; and Tim Hill, Stella Maris. SCI’s Center for Mariner Advocacy Director Phil Schifflin recently attended the “Work at Sea” conference, which […]

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SCI Team Visits Philly Shipyard and Training Ship Construction

October 27, 2023

Photo: Mark Nestlehutt, TOTE’s Sara Rivas, Phil Schifflin, and Stephen Polk during a recent visit to the Philly Shipyard. The Philly Shipyard stands out as one of North America’s most active shipyards, constructing four significant U.S. Jones Act vessels. Before last month’s journey to SCI’s 2023 Mountain Challenge event, a tour of the shipyard was […]

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Family Ties — from the October 2023 Pastoral Activity Report

October 27, 2023

by SCI Chaplain Michelle McWilliams The father, Feno, and son, Julien, didn’t share this information right away. After answering all their questions about going ashore, SAS, and sim cards, we got into discussing home—which was Madagascar for both crew members. They were so excited to talk about their home, their faces lighting up with each […]

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Blazer Patch Returns to SCI from Space mission

October 27, 2023

While training for a mission in 2020 and 2021, veteran Astronaut Dr. Kjell Lindgren reached out to the Director of SCI’s Center for Maritime Education, Capt. Stephen Polk, and offered to take a small SCI item into space on his next mission. In his words, Capt. Polk “jumped at the chance” and gave Dr. Lindgren […]

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SCI PARTICIPATES IN “MILESTONE” BOAT CHRISTENING CEREMONY

September 22, 2023

Last month in Houston, TX, the Seamen’s Church Institute (SCI) had the privilege of participating in the christening ceremony of Kirby Corporation’s latest vessel, M/V GREEN DIAMOND. This vessel marks a significant milestone as the first U.S. hybrid-electric inland towboat and is set to operate under a three-year contract with Shell. SCI sent a delegation consisting […]

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SCI TOURS INLAND MARINER TRAINING CENTER IN EUROPE

September 22, 2023

In mid-September, 2023, SCI’s President & Executive Director, Mark Nestlehutt, visited the Antwerp Maritime Academy’s inland mariner training facility, De Vlaamse Waterweg (Flemish Waterways), in Willebroek, Belgium. Training for Belgian and other European river and canal mariners is overseen by Managing Director, Philippe De Gauw, whom Mark and his SCI colleagues met during the 2022 […]

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