The two Georgian men punched the air and cheered loudly in their language as Chaplain Kewa of the Port Kembla Mission to Seafarers led them back to shore.

The Panama-flagged bullk carrier has been detained since February by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority over what ASMA said were "appalling working and living conditions on board".

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With the ship now deemed unseaworthy, Chaplain Kewa has been doing what he does best: organising care packages for the crew stranded on board.

And on Friday, after several days of wrangling with authorities, he was able to remove two of the crew who had demanded repatriation to their home countries.

"I've never been able to do anything like this in my 15 years as chaplain," Chaplain Kewa told the Mercury.

"To get these two blokes off the boat, that's not something we've been able to achieve before. I feel very elated.

"We will try our best to get the other ten."

He said the sense of relief upon boarding the launch for the 15-minute trip from where the Maryam was anchored to Port Kembla was immense.

"They were speaking their language, I don't know what they were saying, perhaps 'Hallelujah!', punching the air ... absolute relief on their faces.

"When we got back to the mission they saw some beer in the fridge ... they said 'can we buy some beer?'. I said 'it's on me today'.

"I got them some lunch, got them a pizza, made them comfortable, then the health authorities came and did their swabs ... and the Border Force came and did their checkups."

The ship is owned by controversial Qatari shipping group Aswan.

The Maritime union has said conditions on board the ship were "horrific" - saying the crew was left without food, water or fuel.

Chaplain Kewa, who was named the Illawarra Citizen of the Year for 2020 after his work helping stranded seafarers during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, said it may be harder for others who are seeking to be sent home but had not been cleared.

"These are the first two of the 12 [to] be repatriated," Chaplain Kewa said.

"I am told that the Indian crew who are expected to fly over to replace the 12 are now stuck due to the latest COVID situation in India.

"I hope and pray that the rest of the crew are not kept stranded for another three months."

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