The North American Maritime Ministry Association is a network of more than 50 affiliated agencies and individual members who work for seafarers’ welfare around North American and the Caribbean. NAMMA’s Annual Conference is the most broadly diverse gathering of maritime agencies and port welfare workers in North America, that drew more than 100 attendees from nearly every port and a wide variety of backgrounds. The 2018 Annual Conference took place at the MITAGS Maritime Conference Center in Linthicum Heights, MD from August 14-17. The conference provided networking opportunities, engaging discussion of timely maritime issues, and training that is directly applicable to seafarers’ wellness.
The overall theme of this year’s conference was “Port Ministry at the Margins”. This theme called attention to “the margins” as a term with many meanings. Despite its size, the maritime industry is marginal in the minds of the vast majority of people who benefit from it every day; likewise, workers within the industry and those who serve them are equally marginal in most people’s idea of international commerce. Our conference considered how to gain support and awareness for seafarers’ well-being needs, working from the margins to support those on the margin. Moreover, many practices once considered peripheral are now industry-standard. Our conference considered the past and present of dynamics in the maritime industry so we may better prepare for the future. Finally, the margin also evokes the profitability of companies: how can we, as maritime welfare providers, help the industry balance profit with the wellbeing of its most valuable asset?
Conference speakers included (new video recordings being added as they are edited):
- Mr Mark Buzby, RADM USN (ret.), US Maritime Administrator (click here for video recording)
- RADM William D. Baumgartner, USCG (ret.) and retired VP, Royal Caribbean
- CAPT Ryan D. Manning, Chief, Office of Port & Facility Compliance, US Coast Guard (click here for video recording)
- Dr. Mary T. O’Neill, Board Chair, National Association of Catholic Chaplains (click here for video recording)
- Dr. Wendy Cadge, Professor, Department of Sociology, Brandeis University (click here for video recording)
- Mr. Douglas Stevenson, Director, Center for Seafarers’ Rights, SCI (click here for video recording)
- The Rev. Canon Andrew Wright, Secretary General, The Mission to Seafarers international
- Mr. Andrew Cameron, Digital Assistant, American Association of Port Authorities (click here for video recording)
- Mr. Ken Hawkins, Executive Director, Mission to Seafarers, Seattle (click here for video recording)
- Mr. Roger Harris, Executive Director, ISWAN
- Ms. Barbara Shipley, ITF/SIU (click here for video recording)
- CAPT Iqbal Kazi, Rightship (click here for video recording)
- Ms. Lyn Harris, COO, NAMEPA (click here for video recording)
- Ms. Emily Reiblein, Crowley Liner Services
- Ms. Katie Higginbottom, The ITF Seafarers’ Trust
- Ms. Ciara Flowers, Johns Hopkins University (click here for video recording)
- The Right Reverend Eugene Taylor Sutton, Bishop of Baltimore, Episcopal Church United States (click here for video recording)
Check out our conference video here:
Thank you to all the participants and the partners and sponsors of the event.
