IN THIS ISSUE – APRIL 2022
- Mark Nestlehutt appears on NYMAR at Gallaghers
- SUNY Maritime visits the ISC
- New Intern for the Center for Mariner Advocacy
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The World Depends on Mariners. Mariners Depend on SCI.
And SCI Depends on You.
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SCI Director appears on Clay Maitland's "NYMAR at Gallaghers" |
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Like most of the maritime and shipping industry, the Seamen’s Church Institute’s mission and day-to-day work has been affected by both the COVID-19 pandemic and, more recently, the invasion of Ukraine, especially given their impact on the lives and work of international seafarers. Clay Maitland recently interviewed SCI’s President & Executive Director, Mark Nestlehutt, for a thirty-minute episode of Maritime TV’s NY Maritime at Gallagher’s.
The conversation focused on SCI, as a nearly 200-year-old organization headquartered in Manhattan, being innovative in adapting to the changing needs of mariners and seafarers to provide crucial support during times of crisis, as well as in what are considered more ordinary times. As shipping becomes more automated and technologically driven, SCI focuses on the human element of shipping, caring for the holistic welfare of this critical workforce that propels the world’s economy.
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SUNY Maritime visits the ISC in Port Newark |
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The Seamen's Church Institute and SUNY Maritime have an ongoing and growing relationship. Chaplain Michelle McWilliams was previously invited to host sexual harassment workshops for first-year cadets, and cadets have come to help pack and distribute Christmas at Sea packages in the winter months. When the cadets last visited and called on ships with our chaplains, Prof. James Spear felt their time with us was so meaningful that he brought five more cadets in early April.
Some of these cadets will go to sea on a training vessel (to which SCI will send chaplains in May 2022), while others are graduating and looking for their first contracts post-graduation.
During their time with us, the cadets received a tour of the International Seafarers' Center followed by ship visits in two different groups. With Chaplain Cora DiDomenico, the cadets visited MSC Jessenia R, where they had the unique opportunity to follow the Chief Officer and the Coast Guard on their annual inspection. They learned about safety measures and were given important tips about going to sea. Chaplain DiDomenico's cadets ended their visit with homemade masala chai tea.
The cadets with Chaplain McWilliams made their first stop at the Grande Gibon, a “ro-ro” (roll-on, roll-off) vessel where they could observe the unloading of large machinery and loading of cars. Next, they went to the Ever Fit in the Maher Terminal, their first time visiting a container ship, and the Chief Officer gave them a tour from the deck to the bridge. Finally, a visit to the CMA CGM Butterfly where the cadets witnessed provisions and parts being loaded onto the ship, and heard the ship's Second Officer talking about the life of a seafarer.
We look forward to welcoming many more groups in the future!
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CMA Welcomes New Intern in Tulane Law Partnership |
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The Seamen’s Church Institute welcomes Ashleigh T. Higgs as our new Center for Mariner Advocacy (CMA) intern. Ashleigh is currently a clerk for the Honorable Erin M. Wirth, Chief Administrative Law Judge for the Federal Maritime Commission in Washington, D.C. And, prior to this experience, Ashleigh clerked for the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, in Grand Rapids, MI. Ashleigh received her BA from Boston University and is currently a Juris Doctorate candidate at Tulane University, where she is a Women in Law member and Maritime Law Society member.
Ashleigh’s arrival at CMA marks the restoration of our 29-year internship program with Tulane University Law School. Established in 1993 by Center for Seafarers’ Rights Director Emeritus Douglas B. Stevenson, Esq.—now CMA Director Emeritus—the program has welcomed 27 of Tulane’s best and brightest over the years. Ashleigh will join CMA Director Philip C. Schifflin, Jr., Esq., in our New Orleans office, and work with Tulane Law Professor Martin Davies, and our International Seafarers’ Center team in the Port of New York & New Jersey. Her welcome arrival comes at a time of great urgency, particularly for Ukrainian and Russian seafarers, as the current conflict has animated many additional legal and humanitarian challenges for the CMA.
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History of the SCI/Tulane Law Internship |
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SCI's Center for Mariner Advocacy is pleased that the partnership between the Seamen’s Church Institute and Tulane University Law School has been restored. The partnership began in 1993 when Tulane law student Larry Kahn asked then Center for Seafarers’ Rights (CSR) director Douglas Stevenson if he could be a summer intern at the Center. He explained that Professor Robert Force had recommended he apply for an internship at CSR. At that time, CSR did not have an internship program. Larry’s enthusiasm and interest in seafarers’ rights (and Professor Force’s recommendation) convinced Doug that a law student internship might provide value both to law students and to the Seamen’s Church Institute. Larry’s experience over the summer of 1993 exceeded all expectations for both Doug and Larry. When Larry returned to Tulane, he helped Professor Force and Doug to arrange a regular summer internship program for Tulane law students with SCI.
From Larry’s initial internship, twenty-seven of the best and brightest Tulane University law students had worked alongside Doug and CSR/CMA staff attorneys, gaining unique experience and exposure to the maritime industry and advocacy for seafarers. The program was suspended after Doug’s retirement in 2019 and the COVID-19 restrictions that followed, but it sees a very welcome return this year.
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Please join us...
We will be Honoring
Walter E. Blessey, Jr.
Chairman, Blessey Marine Services, Inc.
Thursday, April 28, 2022
11:00 a.m.: Registration
11:30 – 1:00 p.m.: Luncheon
Marriott Marquis Houston
1777 Walker Street, Houston, TX
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