Since 1980 the International Seamen’s Center of Wilmington, NC served its 3,000 officers and crew members from a pre-WWII building on the Port of Wilmington’s property. The facility had become inadequate in providing entertainment, computers, telephones, and other services to its members while their ships were in Port, so the board of directors began shopping around within the Port, knowing it would need to qualify for a grant from the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF). The board settled on a 1,600 square foot modular building from Clayton Homes and selected a site, as wilmingtonbiz tells MHProNews. After several delays, the ITF grant was in hand, and with donations from individuals, businesses and churches, the modules were delivered to the site Tue., July 30. The Center intends to have the new facility up and running by early Sept., but will continue to need donations of labor and goods in anticipation of more usage by members.
