Captain of the Normand Scorpion, a ship which supplies oil rigs off Western Australia’s north west coast, Ben Phillips is halfway through his two-week quarantine period at a Perth hotel.
Since states closed their borders to limit the spread of COVID-19, Mr Phillips, who lives in Nowra on the New South Wales south coast, and his crew have had to factor the quarantine period into their rosters.
“Normally we work from Broome. We load up with cargo and sail out to the oil rig and discharge cargo, which is all sorts of stuff from the basics, food and water, fuel, to drilling materials,” he said.
The 44-year old's normal schedule is five weeks at sea and five weeks at home with his wife and three children.
"The new roster now is two weeks isolation, followed by six weeks at sea and then four weeks leave, so essentially eight weeks away, four weeks at home,” Captain Phillips said.
"We work hard away for five weeks, and then we come home and plan to spend five weeks with our family as much time as we can. With the new roster, I am essentially away twice as much as I normally would be and I am home half the time, it was very difficult to tell the family, and difficult to absorb.”
Ship captain Ben Phillips is spending more time away from his family due to quarantine requirements. Source: Supplied
The captain says seafarers are used to isolation at sea, so the time in a hotel room is not too draining, but he would like to see the rules relaxed for the essential workforce.
“I think from the amount of contact we have here with hotel staff, we would achieve the same result by joining straight onto the ship, especially as we aren't allowed shore leave, people aren't allowed to come off the ship,” he said.
“We are isolating (in hotels) and then in full isolation on the ship anyway.”
SBS News has contacted the West Australian government for comment.
Captain Phillips is just one of the 2,500 Australian seafarers the Maritime Industry Australia estimates are caught up in state quarantine requirements at any one time.
“It means that both the seafarers and their families are doing it really tough at the moment. They are having to cope with an awful lot, the global pandemic is obviously unprecedented and on top of that stress they have the stress of not seeing their loved ones,” Maritime Industry Australia chief executive Teresa Lloyd said.
“At the moment seafarers are being required to quarantine on their way to work in many cases and on their way home so for any trip to work they are quarantined for a month as a result.
“It means a lot of people are sucked out of a very small workforce and that does have an impact on how many people are available at any point in time and how long those Australian seafarers are spending with their families.”
1.6 million seafarers stuck at sea
The shipping industry transports 90 per cent of the world’s cargo, including masks and other items needed during the global pandemic.
Worldwide, the International Chamber of Shipping estimates 1.6 million people are stuck at sea aboard vessels, which are unable to dock as countries have closed their borders to foreign nationals.
“The issue with coronavirus is that so many countries have closed their borders, so what that means is a global workforce is once they are at work getting home is really problematic,” Ms Lloyd said.
The Normand Scorpion departs from Broome in WA so interstate crew have to quarantine for two weeks in Perth before leaving. Source: Supplied
“A lot of countries don't really facilitate those seafarers coming ashore to get to their airport to fly home.
“We want to see airports opened up and the seafarers themselves allowed to step on the land and move through that country to their airport to go home.”
The sound your horns campaign is based off the clapping for healthcare workers, which takes place in many European countries in battling COVID-19.
Ships around the world will sound their horns at midday local time on 1 May to acknowledge the sacrifices made by shipping workers.
People in Australia must stay at least 1.5 metres away from others. Check your state’s restrictions on gathering limits.
Testing for coronavirus is now widely available across Australia. If you are experiencing cold or flu symptoms, arrange a test by calling your doctor or contact the Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080.
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