With a little help from..

P&O Cruises Australia President Sture Myrmell has thanked Ni Vanuatu crew member Serah Taravaki (pictured third from left) for her selfless efforts in helping to get many of her seafarer colleagues home.

Taravaki was recently reunited with her own family and friends after completing international arrival quarantine - a reunion that could have taken place far earlier, if not for her insistence to stay on board P&O Australia flagship Pacific Explorer to help in the complex repatriation project.

In doing so, Taravaki became the last of 17,000 crew members within the P&O brand to arrive home in one of the biggest-ever maritime repatriation operations, following the worldwide suspension of cruising.

Myrmell expressed his gratitude for Taravaki’s efforts, saying “I want to thank you for your contributions to seeing us through this difficult time.

“I want you to know that your hard work has not gone unnoticed and you should be extremely proud of how you have positively impacted those you work with, your management and the organisation as a whole.

“We certainly look forward to welcoming our Ni Vanuatu crew back on board when P&O’s pause in operations comes to an end with the anticipated restart.

“In the same way, we also look forward to our ships again being able to visit Vanuatu’s beautiful destinations that are so popular with our guests.”

Myrmell said P&O very much looked forward to having Taravaki back onboard upon the resumption of cruising, with Serah thanking her Aus shoreside colleagues for working so hard to get her flights organised, as well as her crew management agency South Sea Services.

“Our shoreside team was never discouraged and worked 24/7 with us to make sure everything was under control, especially to bring the crew members home” she said.