Coordination of Sea Time

ISA has delivered its Coordination of Sea Time Final Report, providing a clear, evidence-based pathway to strengthen Australia’s maritime workforce by improving how trainee seafarers access mandatory sea time. It provides government with practical, scalable options to enhance equity, transparency, and long-term workforce planning.  

Developed in response to workforce priorities under the Maritime Industry 2025 Workforce Plan and Recommendation 9 of the Australian Government’s response to the Strategic Fleet Taskforce Report, the report addresses a longstanding challenge: coordinating sea time placements across Australian and international shipping to support maritime certification. 

Through extensive national stakeholder engagement, regulatory analysis, and international benchmarking, the project confirmed that the current system is fragmented and increasingly unsustainable. Key constraints include: 

Limited availability of training berths 

• High upfront costs for trainees 
• Complex and unclear training pathways 
• Low visibility of maritime career opportunities 

These pressures are restricting workforce supply at a time of growing industry demand. 

Four national coordination models were assessed, with two emerging as the strongest options: 

Independent Sea Time Coordinator 

• Consortium of Training Service Providers 

Both models offer a centralised, learner-focused approach to matching trainees with sea time opportunities. They are designed to improve access, fairness, and more effective workforce planning across the industry, while maintaining existing regulatory arrangements. 

The report provides the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations (DEWR) with a robust foundation to progress a feasibility business case assessment and pilot design. 

Completion of the project marks a key milestone in building a more coordinated, sustainable maritime workforce pipeline for Australia. 

Next Steps 

ISA is now undertaking a project to deliver Coordination of Sea Time Feasibility Business Case and Pilot Implementation Plan. 

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 

On-the-job training is an approach used by many industries to give learners access to worksite conditions and learn under the guidance of skilled workers. Within maritime, securing access to ‘sea time’ on vessels and gaining the necessary hours to achieve certification, is particularly complex given the remote and complex nature of maritime operations. 

In its Final Report, the Strategic Fleet Taskforce highlighted the need for better coordination and improved access to training berths on vessels so that seafarers can complete their mandatory sea time training obligations. 

This project will examine models to expedite access to training berths for maritime trainees.  It will help to establish a skilled workforce for the Strategic Fleet as committed to by the Australian Government and support the broader maritime industry.

The Project will produce:

• An Options paper that will form the basis for consultation with stakeholders on different models
• Final Report which will serve as advice to policymakers working to establish the Strategic Fleet. 

The Coordination of Sea Time Project will conclude in October 2025.