Since 2003, The Mission to Seafarers, Sydney has welcomed between 8,000 - 10,000 Seafarers per year - from 79 different nationalities and we have ministered to many more seafarers on board their vessels!  The diversity of our guests was seen in a recent week, when we ministered to seafarers from China, Croatia, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Japan, Lithuania, Myanmar, the Netherlands, Oman, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Tonga, the Ukraine, and Vietnam.

 

Although our attendance figures lower than those of previous years, they reflect a national (indeed global) trend for larger ships to be crewed by fewer seafarers.  Our figures also reflect the reduction in the number of vessels berthing in Sydney’s ports, following the NSW Government’s 2008 decision to divert car carriers away from the Ports of Sydney to Port Kembla.  Nevertheless, despite there being fewer seafarers whose vessels berth at Port Botany, the overwhelming majority still want to come the ‘The Mission’.