Seafarers' Ministry

Prayer for Seafarers:

Heavenly Father, we pray for those on the perilous ocean that you will embrace them with your mighty protection and grant them success in all their rightful undertakings.

What we do

The mission of our Seafarers' Ministry is to meet the spiritual and practical needs of ship workers who arrive at our local ports. Each year our mission serves over 20,000 seafarers who work in one of the world's most stressful and lonely occupations.

Read more about us in Crosscut and Northwest Catholic.

Who are Seafarers?

Seafarers are at sea and away from their families for up to 9 months out of the year. They live and work on container ships, cruise ships, and bulk carriers, etc. Though they have a hand in bringing us most of the goods we use on a daily basis, they remain fairly invisible. Our ministry elevates the dignity of seafarers and provides them with transportation to shopping destinations, communication tools to contact family members across the world, and a "home from the sea" in our ecumenical ministry center situated along the Duwamish Waterway. We provide visiting seafarers with essential human services and a caring ministry of presence both on board vessels and on shore.

Seattle Seafarers' Center

Nestled underneath the West Seattle Bridge lies the Seattle Seafarers' Center, an ecumenical partnership comprised of three denominational stakeholders: the Episcopal Church (i.e. Mission to Seafarers), the Archdiocese of Seattle (i.e. Apostleship of the Sea/Stella Maris), and the Lutheran Church. This unified ministry is exceedingly rare globally and we stand as an incredible model of what's possible for port missions everywhere.

Visit the Seafarers' Center Website

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Our Core Initiatives

Ditty Bag Program

The Ditty Bag Program reaches out to churches, schools, families, and other community partners to garner donated knit stocking caps, hygiene items, religious materials, and other small articles that will be gifted to seafarers in a handy and reusable ditty bag. Groups of volunteers are then invited to our center to organize and prepare these ditty bags for delivery. Would YOUR parish, school, agency, or family be interested in helping with this program? Please contact us today!

Read more about our Ditty Bag Program in Northwest Catholic!

Ship Visiting

Imagine being confined to a small space at sea for months at a time. Now imagine arriving at port and being unable to disembark due to your visa status. These invisible seafarers are responsible for bringing most of the goods we use on a daily basis, yet many remain isolated and apart from the communities they serve. Our ship visiting ministry responds to this issue by sending chaplains and volunteer ship visitors onto vessels while at port and offering a ministry of presence to crew members. We hear about their families back at home and receive their stories of life at sea.

Our team members regularly board ships, connect with the captain, engage in pastoral listening, share a meal in the galley, sell reduced price SIM cards, and provide seafarers with courtesy materials such as magazines, newspapers, prayer cards, rosaries, and other items.

Are you called to visit seafarers who arrive at our terminals? Volunteer ship visitors are always needed. Please contact us to learn more!

Transportation Ministry

The Seattle Seafarers' Center maintains a fleet of passenger vans used to transport seafarers to/from shopping, tourist, or other destinations while they are at port. Seafarers can also be transported to/from the Seattle Seafarers’ Center for rest, relaxation, prayer in the interfaith chapel, access to donated clothes/food/goods, access to technology for family connection, and recreation via television viewing, pool, video games, etc. This is their home away from home!

Are you called to provide transportation services and hospitality to visiting seafarers? Volunteer van drivers are always needed. Please contact us and get started today!