The COVID-19 pandemic has led to long periods of isolation for many, and copping the worst of this has been the crews of international seafarers that man the vessels that go in and out of Port Kembla every day.
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Unable to leave their ships to access services on shore due to pandemic border controls, some seafarers have spent more than 12 months at sea, largely unable to contact friends or family at home.
Despite this, shipping has continued throughout the pandemic, with vehicles arriving at Port Kembla port, along with coal, iron and grain passing through.
To address the isolation felt by seafarers and to provide some level of connectivity, a team from the Port Authority of NSW and NSW Ports, as well as local industry, have been providing WiFi access to seafarers docked in Port Kembla and other NSW ports throughout the pandemic, as well as access to vaccines more recently with NSW Health.
These efforts were recognised with an award at the DCN Australian Shipping and Maritime Industry Awards, with Illawarra resident Peter Ernst receiving the award along with Wayne Ashton of NSW Ports.
"I met seafarers during the peak of the crisis that had been onboard those vessels for 18 months and some of them had not spoken to their family for periods of six months at a time. That's catastrophic from a humanitarian perspective," Mr Ernst said.
Many of the seafarers who man the ships that travel through Port Kembla are from countries such as the Philippines where the vaccine roll out has been limited as wealthier countries vaccinate their populations first.
Mr Ernst said that with the assistance of local health districts including the Illawarra Shoalhaven, over 500 seafarers have been able to access vaccines in Port Kembla alone.
"The vaccination program will really help those people to be able to return to some level of normality," he said.
Being able to come ashore while docked in Port Kembla will have an immediate impact on the wellbeing and welfare of seafarers, who have ensured all Australians have had access to products and goods from overseas throughout the pandemic. In addition, groups such as the Mission to Seafarers will once again be able to support the crews of bulk carriers docked in harbours around Australia.
"Even simple things like shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste, they've not been able to access any of this during the pandemic either, because the seafarers aren't allowed off the vessel," Mr Ernst said.
"All the help that they normally get hasn't been there. So that's why the Wi Fi initiative, the ability to call home, has been really important."
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