Coordination of Sea Time Feasibility Business Case and Pilot Implementation

Industry Skills Australia (ISA) is leading this Coordination of Sea Time Feasibility Business Case and Pilot Implementation project to address a critical challenge in Australia’s maritime training system: limited, fragmented and inconsistent access to qualifying sea time.

Qualifying sea time is mandatory for certification by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) under the STCW and Domestic Commercial Vessel (DCV) frameworks. However, inconsistent access to training berths has long constrained workforce entry, progression and retention across high demand maritime roles. This project is funded through the Australian Government’s Support the Maritime Workforce initiative and responds directly to longstanding industry concerns that fragmented access to sea berths is limiting the effectiveness of maritime training and workforce development. The project will nationally coordinate one industry-preferred approach to sea time access and, subject to feasibility and approvals, design a pilot to test practical, scalable solutions.

Access to qualifying sea time is one of the most significant constraints on growing and sustaining Australia’s maritime workforce. Even where training demand exists, limited training berth availability slows certification, delays workforce entry and progression, and reduces the return on investment in training.

For industry, this project aims to shift sea time access from an ad hoc, employer by employer challenge to a more coordinated, transparent and scalable system. By identifying a nationally viable coordination model and testing it through a pilot, the project seeks to make it easier for employers to support trainees and strengthen workforce pipelines, while maintaining safety and regulatory standards.

Improved coordination of sea time has the potential to:

• Increase the availability, visibility and use of training berths
• Shorten timeframes for seafarers to achieve certification
• Improve workforce supply in high demand maritime roles
• Reduce administrative and coordination burdens on employers
• Strengthen confidence in the maritime training and certification system

Ultimately, the project supports industry by helping to build a larger, more reliable and more responsive maritime workforce, better aligned to current and future operational needs.

This project will produce a Sea Time Coordination Feasibility Business Case and Pilot Implementation Plan, outlining how nationally coordinated access to qualifying sea time could strengthen Australia’s maritime workforce.

Key outputs will include:

• A feasibility business case assessing options for nationally coordinated access to qualifying sea time
• Mapping of existing and potential training berths across Australian and internationally operating fleets
• Analysis of alignment with AMSA certification requirements
• Commercial, workforce and cost impact analysis of an industry-preferred coordination model
• A pilot implementation plan, including governance, compliance and evaluation arrangements
• Evidence based recommendations for scalable, long-term national coordination of sea time

How this will be achieved

The project will be delivered through:

• Consultation with maritime employers, unions, training providers and government
• Engagement with AMSA to confirm regulatory alignment and compliance requirements
• Identification and assessment of current and potential sea berth capacity
• Identification, detailed development and evaluation of a nationally viable self-sustainable coordination model informed by domestic and international practice

Design of a controlled pilot for future implementation in the final phase to test a selected coordination approach, including monitoring and evaluation of pilot outcomes to inform advice to government.

The project is scheduled for full completion by December 2026 for pilot implementation in 2027, with findings and recommendations provided to government.