Welcome to the
NAMMA website

NAMMA is an ecumenical, Christian association of individuals and organizations involved in maritime ministry throughout North America, including the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean. Founded in 1932 as the National Group of Seamen’s Agencies, it was renamed NAMMA in 1991. Its mission is to provide a framework to support and assist port chaplains and others in their ministry to the spiritual, moral, human rights, and physical concerns of mariners and all others in the maritime community.

NAMMA helps equip port chaplains with the resources needed to carry on their ministry. It acts as a consultant and coordinator for services and training, as well as providing standards for these services.

NAMMA includes many ministries from a wide variety of denominations, as well as the maritime ministries of North America: Apostleship of the Sea (Roman Catholic), The Mission to Seafarers (Episcopal and Anglican). NAMMA's members include 41 major maritime ministry agencies and approximately 150 member chaplains.

Seamen SOS
Help for seafarers.

Template for the ICMA Online Directory

Click here to see the ICMA Online Directory template. (Please fill it out ONLY for agencies, not individual chaplains.) Send it to Rev. Hennie La Grange after filling it out. Click here for his contact information.

Membership

Click here to see the membership form for 2010 in PDF format. Use it to renew your membership now! Simply print it out and mail it in with your check.

Update your Directory listing

Click here for our database and directory information sheet. Please fill it out and mail it in to update your directory info, even if you are not a member.

Two Presentations by NAMMA 2009 Conference Keynote Speaker: R. Robert Creech, Ph.D.

Transformed by Relationships: With Christ and His Community

Transformed by Relationships: With Christ and His Mission

Chaplains and Ship Visitors need TWIC training

Click here to see what one escort training program looks like and learn why one is needed in your port.

Click here to see a 22-slide PowerPoint presentation explaining Transportation Worker Identification Credentials.

NAMMA Conference 2007 Keynote Address

"God lives and loves on ships. I know this. I have learnt from faith and experience to expect this. I am neither shocked nor frightened by it. But I am ceaselessly in awe."
Click here to read more.

Membership

Click here to see our 2009 Membership Directory.

Click here to see corrections to our 2009 Membership Directory as of August 2, 2010.

Click here to see the membership form for 2010 in PDF format. Use it to renew your membership now! Simply print it out and mail it in with your check.

Register for 2010 NAMMA Conference in Vancouver, Washington,
August 9-12

Click here to see a day-by-day overview of NAMMAC 2010. Registration opens at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, August 9, and concludes with the banquet on Thursday evening, August 12. Click here for a registration form you can print and mail in. It includes details on hotel rooms in Vancouver, Washington and shuttle buses from the Portland, Oregon airport.

Convention Daily Schedule. Click here to see what's planned in Vancouver on August 9-12.

Grants Still Available for Communication Help

NAMMA still has part of $20,000 to distribute to centers and chaplains to help pay for such things as cell phones, computers, and Internet access. Click here to contact us for details.

World Maritime Day in September Honors Seafarers

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has decided that the theme for this year’s World Maritime Day – to be observed during the week of September 20-24 – will be “2010: Year of the Seafarer.” According to the IMO, the aim is to “pay tribute to the world’s seafarers for their unique contribution to society and in recognition of the risks they shoulder in the execution of their duties in an often hostile environment.

The International Committee on Seafarers' Welfare (ICSW) launches the first International Seafarers' Welfare Awards.

The awards will recognise shipping companies, ports, welfare organisations and individuals who provide exceptional welfare facilities and services to seafarers on land or at sea. They will be presented by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Secretary General, Admiral Efthimios Mitropoulos, at an event in London on 1 December 2010. Click here to learn more about the ICSW International Seafarer's Welfare Awards.

Seamens Church Institute video

"Wading in the Waters: an introduction to the issue of piracy and how it affects seafarers.

Results of Seafarers 2010, Gulf Coast Regional Conference on Seafarer Welfare Issues, March 2010, Houston, Texas

2010, The International Year of the Seafarer

Click here to read Henry J. Holcomb's story about a father and daughter re-united at Christmas thanks to the efforts of the Seaman's Church Institute of Philadelphia-Camden. This is a good example of how professional writing can help publicize ministry.

Upcoming Events

NAMMA Board Meeting, August 8 and 9, Vancouver, WA (across the river from Portland, OR, the nearest airport)
NAMMAC 2010, August 9-12 (an extra day this year!), Vancouver, WA (Portland, OR airport)
AAPA 2010, September 19-23, Halifax, NS
ICMA - Consultive Forum, AGM, Executive Meeting, October 2010 (date and details to be announced)
World Maritime Day, October 2010, (date and details to be announced)