Our aims and objectives

The aims of the Society are to offer practical, pastoral and spiritual welfare support to seafarers, ex-seafarers and their families. Also, to make grants to support the education of aspiring mariners studying to enter the mercantile marine profession, to generally support the education of seafarers’ children when funding and support is not available from usual sources, and to provide financial assistance and family liaison to seafarers when in dire need.

How we achieve these

We provide a network of full-time Chaplains at strategic ports around the world, ship visiting and ministering to seafarers where access to shore facilities is difficult or where there is little or no welfare provision. Part-time and honorary Chaplains supplement these personnel. Honorary Chaplains are mostly located inland where seafarers’ relatives may be in need of counsel and welfare support and may benefit from their ministry.

In some ports we are able to provide dedicated centres or clubs for seafarers where all merchant seafarers may relax and enjoy the use of telephone and Internet facilities to call relatives and friends and use the other recreational and retail facilities provided.

We provide educational grants to nautical students and other persons training to take up jobs in the maritime profession.

We provide financial assistance and welfare grants to seafarers and their families when in dire need.

We support and collaborate with other charities, organisations and seafarers’ missions whose objectives are similar to those of our Society so as to avoid duplication and where we can usefully assist each other to benefit seafarers’ welfare overall.

Ensuring that we deliver our aims

We review our aims and objectives annually when setting out and costing the strategy for the ensuing year. We look at past activities undertaken and assess how successful they have been compared with the outcomes expected. Where these may have fallen short of expectation we carefully review the reasons for this and take notice of the findings for future planning and expenditure.

We also review the impact made by our work upon the maritime community who we intended to benefit. Where possible, we assess the costs of delivery of this public benefit. This process assists us to concentrate on our core purposes and determine how our existing and ongoing charitable work is to be sustained.