The International Christian Maritime Association publishes here online reports, papers, training material and statements to the media.

The material published here includes reports produced by ICMA and by our partner organisations. It is intended for use by chaplains and welfare providers who care for seafarers.

These documents are  free to download and use on condition that the source is acknowledged.

For further information about all ICMA publications, and for comments and suggestions,  please contact the ICMA Secretariat.

All articles on the ICMA Home page are written by the general secretary, Hennie la Grange, unless indicated otherwise.  ICMA personnel are encouraged to contribute to the telling of ICMA’s story by sending us items for the website.

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ICMA resolution on piracy

29 October 2008, Hong Kong

In response to recent acts of piracy off the coast of Somalia and in other parts of the world, the ICMA Executive Committee has drafted a resolution. The ExCom deplores the danger to seafarers and fishers of piracy and its long term effect on victims. They urge states and international bodies, including the ILO and IMO, to co-operate in combating piracy and in caring for its victims and call for a resource centre for counselling and medical care. The ExCom pledges the support of ICMA in these initiatives.

For the full text of the ICMA Resolution on Piracy, CLICK HERE

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ICMA World Conference Hamburg 2011

8 September 2011, London

The International Christian Maritime Association (ICMA) gathered in Hamburg, Germany for the Association’s Tenth World Conference. From 19th August to 23rd August 2011, over 200 chaplains, welfare workers and representatives of the maritime sector came together, to share knowledge, to learn, to grow, to pray and to unite their energies in the service of seafarers.

For the full text of the press statement, CLICK HERE

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ICMA honours fishers

21 November 2011, New York, N.Y.

International Fishers Day.  In a statement the Chairman of ICMA, Douglas B. Stevenson of the Seamen’s Church Institute of New York and New Jersey, welcomes the day as an opportunity to highlight the contributions of the millions of men and women who work on fishing vessels around the world. Stevenson urges consideration for the very difficult conditions of fishers and calls for support of the efforts of the ICMA Member Societies who serve them.

For the full text of the media statement, CLICK HERE

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Port-based seafarers’ welfare workers

These two reports were compiled by Prof Erol Kahveci of the Working Lives Institute at the London Metropolitan University.  Professor Kahveci is formerly of the Seafarers’ International Research Centre at the University of Cardiff.

The first of these publications appeared in 2007 and led to much discussion in the maritime welfare sector.

Many members of ICMA have shared their views and experiences with Professor Kahveci, making valuable contributions to this latest of the studies. The reseach project was supported by the ITF Seafarers’ Trust.

Click the link below to download the full report.

Port-based welfare workers for seafarers, 2010 (543 KB)

Port-based welfare  services to seafarers

Click the link below to download the 2007 report

Port-based welfare services for seafarers, 2007 (PDF 1,289 KB)

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ICMA Regional Conference Manual

September 2010.  Part of the ICMA Regional Conference Toolkit, the manual covers all stages in planning, preparation and running an ICMA regional conference.

The manual was compiled following of a meeting of ICMA regional co-ordinators in Helsinki at which they shared their considerable experience.

That meeting was made possible by a generous grant from the ITF Seafarers  Trust.

Click here to download a copy of the ICMA Regional Conference Manual (PDF 899KB)

Click here for the ICMA Regional Conference Toolkit page of our website.

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Successful Seafarers’ Centres, a joint venture of ICMA and the ITF Seafarers’ Trust

April 2010.  The publication is a report of a workshop held in Hong Kong in November 2009. Twelve seafarers’ centres from five continents were represented, each of them known to be successful in specific fields of ministry, management and operations peculiar to its port.  The result is this manual, full of tips and advice, “do’s and don’ts” that can make a difference to your seafarers’ centre. The workshop’s aim was clear: to help seafarers’ centres survive and flourish in difficult times.

ICMA General Secretary Rev Hennie la Grange says of this latest ICMA publication:

Having read the text, prepared for ICMA by Michelle Homden, the one thing that strikes me again is the love these passionate people have for seafarers. If their commitment and resilience does not inspire you, their faith will. What stands out is that successful seafarers’ centres are “seafarer-centred” and always act with impeccable integrity. Long may our seafarers’ centres continue to thrive. Keep up the good work! And from all of us in ICMA: thank you to the centres who participated. You have made a difference.

The workshop was supported by the ITF Seafarers’ Trust, and both Roy Paul of the Trust and Hennie la Grange of ICMA facilitated the process. A seafarer, Nonoy Baldon, shared his views as an end user of services delivered by centres.

Click here to download the report “Successful Seafarers’ Centres” (PDF 1583 KB)

If you would like a text-only version of this report, please contact the ICMA office.

Images

ICMA wishes to thank photographer Rolf Schulten for kind permission to use images from the International Seamen’s’ Club, Duckdalben, Hamburg. Click here for Rolf Schulten’s website

We also thank our colleague Dirk Obermann of the Deutsche Seemansmission in Bremerhaven for his images of seafarers. Dirk’s photographs have also featured in the ICMA 2010 calendar. Click here to read more.

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The Ship Visitor’s Handbook, a manual for pastoral care in ports

The handbook offers guidance for those providing pastoral care and services to seafarers in ports and onboard ships. It is based on the experiences of seafarers’ missions within ICMA.

A preliminary edition was written by the International Council of Seafarers’ Agencies in 1977. It has been revised several times, most recently in 2008, to include recommendations from chaplains and ship visitors.

This latest edition includes addenda provided by numerous maritime welfare support organizations.

The translations into French and Spanish are from the 2005 revision.

English (2008 updates)
French
Spanish

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