GLADSTONE Seafarers Centre has adapted to Covid-19, and with the help of local industry, it’s still doing what it can to help seafarers.
Centre general manager Jessica Mulhall said for the past few weeks, they had been making care packages for the ships, consisting of comfort foods, books, DVDs and SIM cards, among other things.
However, with the centre closed, Ms Mulhall said their income had dried up.
“We looked at reaching out to the community and before we could reach out to industry, Smit Lamnalco came to us,” Ms Mulhall said.
Smit put it to their crews for donations then matched the donations dollar-for-dollar, raising almost $9300.
“It’s an incredible amount of money for us,” Ms Mulhall said.
“The packs cost about $60 to $70 depending on what we put in them.”
The donation will help deliver more than 120 care packs to visiting ships.
Smit Lamnalco general manager Glenn Wetters said most of the company came from the sea, so understood the pressure seafarers were under and the benefits Gladstone Seafarers Centre provided them.
“Without these international seafarers, we wouldn’t have a job,” Mr Wetters said.
“We don’t work for them but they’re an important part of the logistics chain.”
Ms Mulhall said Smit had also been helpful in getting information to ship captains, with tug operators handing out flyers when safe to do so.
“It’s been a mammoth effort,” she said.
Smit Lamnalco were the first to put their hand up to help, but Ms Mulhall said there had been a lot of industry support.
“It’s really become an amazing collaboration of Gladstone shipping industry in general,” she said.
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