Seafarer welfare organisations
A seafarer welfare organisation runs the shore-based centres that support crew during port calls — the port chaplaincies, ITF inspectors' offices, and Sailors' Society branches that provide free transport, WiFi, phone credit, mental-health conversations, and — when it matters most — advocacy against wage theft, abandonment, and forced labour. This directory covers 16 organisations. See the seafarer-centre directory for individual port centres.
- Apostleship of the Sea / Stella Maris
Stella Maris (the Apostleship of the Sea) is the Catholic Church's official seafarer-welfare ministry. Founded in Glasgow in 1920, Stella Maris operates in around 330 ports across 60+ countries and is the largest single seafarer-welfare network. Chaplains visi…
- Deutsche Seemannsmission
Deutsche Seemannsmission (DSM) is the German Protestant seafarer-welfare ministry, founded in 1900. DSM operates port chaplaincies and centres in Germany (Hamburg, Bremen, Bremerhaven, Wilhelmshaven, Brunsbuettel, Stade, Lubeck, Rostock, Kiel) and abroad (Antw…
- ITF
The International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF) is a global federation of transport-worker trade unions. Although ITF is not primarily a chaplaincy network, ITF inspectors operate from offices in major ports worldwide and provide advocacy, wage-recovery,…
- Korea Seamen's Welfare
Korea Seamen's Welfare is the Korean seafarer-welfare network, principally operating in Busan, Incheon, and Ulsan to support Korean and international seafarers calling at Korean ports. It coordinates with the Mission to Seafarers and Stella Maris on inter-fait…
- NAMMA member
The North American Maritime Ministry Association (NAMMA) is the regional federation of seafarer-welfare ministries operating in US, Canadian, and Caribbean ports. NAMMA-member centres include local Seamen's Church Institute branches, Catholic Stella Maris chap…
- NAMMA member chaplaincy
The North American Maritime Ministry Association (NAMMA) is the regional federation of seafarer-welfare ministries operating in US, Canadian, and Caribbean ports. NAMMA-member centres include local Seamen's Church Institute branches, Catholic Stella Maris chap…
- Russian Seafarers' Union
The Russian Seafarers' Union (Российский профсоюз моряков) is an ITF-affiliated trade union that supports Russian and CIS seafarers worldwide. While not a chaplaincy in the religious sense, RPSM operates welfare and advocacy offices in major Russian ports (St …
- Sailors' Society
The Sailors' Society is a British-founded, non-denominational maritime-welfare charity that has supported seafarers since 1818. It operates port chaplaincies across more than 30 countries, focused on welfare, crisis response, mental-health support (including i…
- Seamen's Church Institute
The Seamen's Church Institute (SCI), founded in 1834, is a major American seafarer-welfare ministry. SCI operates centres in New York / New Jersey, Houston, Newark, and along the US Gulf and inland-waterway system. It is one of the largest seafarer-welfare pro…
- Sjømannskirken
Sjømannskirken (the Norwegian Church Abroad) is the Lutheran Church of Norway's seafarer-welfare ministry, operating in around 80 cities worldwide. It serves Norwegian seafarers and the wider Norwegian community abroad. Centres are well-equipped and many doubl…
- Sjömanskyrkan
Sjömanskyrkan (the Swedish Church Abroad) is the Lutheran Church of Sweden's seafarer-welfare ministry, operating in several international ports (Antwerp, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Felixstowe, Newcastle) and at major Swedish ports. It is a member of the I…
- Sømandsmissionen
Sømandsmissionen (Den Indre Mission for Sømænd) is the Danish seafarer mission, operating port chaplaincies in Denmark (Copenhagen, Aarhus, Esbjerg, Fredericia) and several international locations (Rotterdam, Hamburg, the US east coast). It is affiliated with …
- Stella Maris
Stella Maris (the Apostleship of the Sea) is the Catholic Church's official seafarer-welfare ministry. Founded in Glasgow in 1920, Stella Maris operates in around 330 ports across 60+ countries and is the largest single seafarer-welfare network. Chaplains visi…
- Stella Maris (Apostleship of the Sea)
Stella Maris (the Apostleship of the Sea) is the Catholic Church's official seafarer-welfare ministry. Founded in Glasgow in 1920, Stella Maris operates in around 330 ports across 60+ countries and is the largest single seafarer-welfare network. Chaplains visi…
- The Mission to Seafarers
The Mission to Seafarers is an Anglican-rooted charity that has run seafarer welfare centres — historically known as Flying Angel clubs — in port cities since 1856. The Mission operates in over 200 ports across more than 50 countries and is one of the two larg…
- unknown
This centre's parent welfare organisation is not yet recorded in our directory. Most international seafarer-welfare centres are affiliated with the Mission to Seafarers, Stella Maris (Apostleship of the Sea), NAMMA, the Sailors' Society, Deutsche Seemannsmissi…