THE Ampol terminal at Kurnell is famous for the landing place of Captain Cook in 1770 but for the seafarers arriving on oil tankers it is a long way to visit the Opera House or Sydney CBD.
Like many oil terminals around the world, they are located far from cities. Many seafarers find shore leave in these circumstances quite impractical.
Image: Michael Kelly
The Mission to Seafarers runs buses from the other terminals at Port Botany but Kurnell is just too far.
A taxi or Uber is expensive so many crews sadly opt not to visit Sydney.
Port Botany marine pilot Michael Kelly came up with the idea of leaving Opal (travel) cards at the terminal which crews could use to get into the city or visit a local shopping mall.
The security team at Ampol agreed to look after the Opal cards, with crews collecting the cards as they depart the terminal.
“We all know what it is like for us landing at a foreign airport and not knowing how to get into city and not having any local currency, it is the same for seafarer’s, they only carry US dollars and most buses or trains in Australia don’t take cash let alone US dollars,” Michael Kelly said.
“The bus stop is right outside the gate running every hour to Cronulla train station, the crew can either walk around Cronulla, go into the city or visit Westfield shopping centre at Miranda 3 stops away.”
Prior to the ship arriving at Kurnell, Michael Kelly emails the ship with details of the travel cards and the bus timetable.
Sydney Mission to Seafarers principal chaplain Reverend Un Tay said the Opal Card initiative was “a shining light example of what happens when compassion meets creativity”.
“For many seafarers, shore leave is a rare and precious opportunity, yet the distance from remote terminals to city landmarks often makes it inaccessible,” Rev Tay said.
“Thanks to the thoughtful vision of marine pilot Michael Kelly and the generous support of Port Authority pilots, hundreds of crew members have now experienced Sydney’s beauty first-hand.”
Many of the Port Authority pilots donate money to the two welfare organisations with half going to the Mission to Seafarers and half to Sister Mary Leahy at the Stella Maris.
Sister Mary contributes that money and more to the Opal cards.”
“Seafarers lives are difficult and to get them out for any break is critical for their mental health,” Sister Mary told DCN.
“For them to have the option to get out of the gates for a time is a great thing and also in keeping with ports obligations to seafarers under the Maritime Labour Convention.”
Since its inception in 2022 we have seen hundreds of seafarers use the Opal cards and sail out of Kurnell with a smile that they saw the Opera House and famous landmarks Sydney has to offer.