Humanitarian group Sea Mercy has landed its first container of essential supplies for water treatment, shelter and clean up following the devastation caused by Category 5 Cyclone Harold.

Published 5 years ago, updated 7 months ago

Humanitarian group Sea Mercy has landed its first container of essential supplies for water treatment, shelter and clean up following the devastation caused by Category 5 Cyclone Harold.  Arriving from Fiji, these supplies were standing stores in Sea Mercy’s Fiji warehouse and were transported by a Vanuatuan vessel to overcome the obstacles presented by COVID travel restrictions.

Sea Mercy responded to Vanuatu’s needs post Cyclone Pam 5 years ago and used over 60 Sea Mercy disaster response vessels to respond to Fiji’s Cyclone Winston in 2016. Sea Mercy has once again mobilized in response to Harold, utilizing precious local knowledge gained from these two earlier missions.

Working locally, Sea Mercy Fiji’s President Nigel Skeggs quickly assembled a container full of de-salination units, water containers, tarps and tents for shelter and tools for clean-up and rebuild.   “We are prepared and willing to respond to almost any natural disaster in the South Pacific. Thanks to lessons learnt from Cyclones Pam and Winston, we have a warehouse in Fiji with portable desalination units, water filters, tents, and tools ready to go. These ‘standing stores’ mean we can respond immediately rather than waste precious time on complex logistics fetching supplies from other countries. “

Sea Mercy is already supporting the Fiji government with their in-country resources. However, Covid-19 has added a new and frustrating obstacle. “People are telling us this is too difficult. We refuse to accept their reality and we’re substituting one of our own. The fact we have supplies stored in Fiji has already reduced Covid-19 obstacles significantly” said Nigel, whose team of volunteers in Fiji have worked diligently to mobilize Sea Mercy’s response.

Following and respecting the government quarantine protocols and regulations designed to protect their citizens, Sea Mercy’s first container load of desalination, water filtration and shelter aid has already landed in Vanuatu. Big thanks to Jonathan Robinson, Sea Mercy Fleet Director for his terrier-like determination, and his ability to navigate through the bureaucracy which can sometimes be the difference between essential aid arriving or not.

How you can help?

Make a Donation

Please do not collect or send unsolicited aid. It will not be distributed. With an estimated 160,000 people now homeless in Vanuatu, securing and delivering shelter, clean water and nutrition will be the greatest need for months to come. Although we do not see the travel lockdown for vessels being lifted in the foreseeable future, we are working with our Government and NGO colleagues, secure and ship additional aid. Making an online donation to Sea Mercy through the above secure PayPal link is the best way to help us to quickly secure and deliver the emergency aid needed in these hard-hit areas. Follow our response efforts on Cyclone Harold Response Facebook group.

If you are a vessel owner wanting to assist, the best place to start is to register your vessel online with us at www.seamercy.org/captain. When the travel lockdown is lifted, we may then be able to work together to help you “Sail with a greater purpose.”

Links:

• Sea Mercy Blog
• PayPal Link
• Facebook Group

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The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of Noonsite.com or World Cruising Club.