
Taking the message of life to Seafarers in Australian Ports
SCFS has been in Australia for over 20 years, providing a lifeline to men and women, from all nations, who work at sea.
It’s lonely for seafarers, who are away from home and family for many months at a time. SCFS Representatives visit seafarers onboard their ships while they are in port. They aim to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to non-Christian seafarers and provide fellowship, resources and encouragement to Christian seafarers.
Around the world, there are 6,000 commercial ports and 75,000 merchant ships voyaging between them. In Australia we have 60 commercial ports, which are only 1% of the world’s total!
World mission on Australia’s doorstep
Virtually all seafarers come from overseas. A crew of 20 on a ship may have five or more nationalities and languages onboard. This means our ministry reaches into all corners of the world.
Representatives of SCFS minister in the following ports:
Port Botany
Port Kembla
Port Adelaide
Crew work 10 to 12 hours per day
They work 6.5 to 7 days per week
Their contracts last 7 to 9 months
Crew are unpaid while on vacation
Ships are at sea 85% of the time
Their times in port are normally less than 48 hours
There are approximately 800,000 seafarers working onboard merchant ships and life for them can be hard, lonely and dangerous.