Sea Swift
Sea Swift is Australia’s largest privately owned shipping company. It operates in Northern Australia, mainly servicing remote and regional communities in Far North Queensland and the Northern Territory. The company provides freight and passenger services, and maritime logistical support, operating four merchant vessels in addition to barges, tugs and landing craft. It has won a number of business awards, and participates in Corporate Social Responsibility activities in the communities served.
History
Sea Swift started in 1987 when founder Sid Faithfull identified an opportunity to service Gulf Of Carpentaria fishing fleets by mothershipping from Karumba. Over the next 25 years, Sea Swift grew to become Australia’s largest privately owned shipping company, operating regular freight, mothershipping, project logistics and passenger cruise services from its Cairns headquarters to communities throughout Far North Queensland. Expanding to 20 vessels and five depots, today Sea Swift continues to service remote communities along Cape York Peninsula and in the Gulf of Carpentaria, as well as the Torres Strait Islands, including Horn Island, Thursday Island and the outer islands.
In early 2013, through the acquisition of Tiwi Barge,[1] Sea Swift commenced an operation in the Northern Territory. The initial two-vessel and 15-person operation servicing four destinations grew in 2015 to become an 11-vessel, 110-person operation servicing 17 destinations across the Territory.
Services
Sea Swift has four main service streams:
- Project logistics – logistics capabilities including barge/tug and landing craft operations and crewed (or bare boat) vessel chartering options.
- Sea Freight - scheduled liner and coastal freight services accommodating regional break bulk, bulk fuel and container freight requirements.
- Mothershipping - resupply and refuelling of trawlers at sea.
- Passenger cruise – three separate working barge cruises in Cape York Peninsula, the Torres Strait and remote Northern Territory [2]
Sea Swift's Project Logistics unit has seen jobs completed domestically to destinations including Brisbane, Townsville, Gladstone, Bundaberg, Torres Strait Islands, Mornington Island, Lizard Island, Palm Island, Darwin, Gove, Tiwi Islands, Arnhem Land, and many others - as far south as Newcastle and as far west as Western Australia coastal mine sites. Internationally, jobs have been completed to Papua New Guinea, South East Asia and the South Pacific. Clients serviced include BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto Alcan, Mt Gibson Iron, Sedgman, Bechtel, Santos, Queensland Government, Northern Territory Government and many others.
Employee and community relations
Sea Swift has more than 350 staff, with an Indigenous workforce participation rate of 18 per cent. An internally developed award-winning cadetship program develops people ready to progress in the maritime industry.[3]
Sea Swift operates a Corporate Social Responsibility program in regional and remote communities in northern Australia. Sea Swift supports Northern Pride RLFC’s national award-winning Take Pride Program, which uses the vehicle of sport to deliver positive outcomes in Education, Employment, Health & Wellbeing and Sporting Pathways to members of these communities.
Sea Swift is also naming rights sponsor of Northern Pride RLFC, and a major sponsor of the Cairns Taipans basketball team, which plays in the National Basketball League (NBL).
Awards
Sea Swift has won a number of awards over recent years:
- 2014 FNQ Regional Training Awards in ‘Employer of the Year’ category [4]
- 2014 Lloyd’s List Australian Shipping & Maritime Industry Awards – Finalist in the ‘Safe Transport’ category
- 2014 TNQ20 Awards – Winner in the ‘Communitarian’ category
- 2014 Queensland Government Reconciliation Awards – Finalist in the ‘Business’ category
- 2014 Torres Strait Recognition Awards – Winner of the ‘Inspirational Employer’ Award
- 2013 Lloyd’s List Australian Shipping & Maritime Industry Awards – Finalist in the ‘Safe Transport’ category
- 2013 Transport & Logistics Industry Skills Council (TLISC) Innovation and Excellence in Workforce Development – Maritime Award Winner
- 2013 TLISC Excellence in Industry Promotion Award – Highly commended
- 2013 Torres Strait Recognition Awards: Community Support category
- 2013 Torres Strait Recognition Awards: Special Recognition Award – Thursday Island Depot, and Manager, Darryl Seden’
- 2013 Torres Strait Recognition Awards: Finalist in 'Inspirational Employer – Thursday Island Depot'
- 2012 Queensland State Training Awards in ‘Employer of the Year’ category – Runner-up in Australian Awards
- 2012 Lloyd’s List Australian Shipping & Maritime Industry Awards in the ‘Maritime Services’ category
- 2012 Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) Awards in the ‘Major Tour and/or Transport Operator Award’ category
- 2011 F.N.Q Regional Training Awards in ‘Employer of the Year’ category
- 2011 Lloyd’s List Australian Shipping & Maritime Industry Awards in the ‘Project Cargo’ category
- 2011 TTNQ Awards in the ‘Major Tour and/or Transport Operator Award’ category
Ships
The following vessels are currently within Sea Swift's fleet.[5]
Merchant vessels
- MV Trinity Bay - General Cargo
- MV Newcastle Bay - General Cargo
- MV Kestrel Bay - Fishing vessel mothership
- MV Endeavour Bay
Landing craft
- Malu Chief
- Malu Explorer
- Malu Titan
- Malu Trader
- Malu Trojan
- Malu Warrior
- Tiwi Islander
- Temple Bay
Tugs
- Arjuna
- Agros
- Aphros
- Arion
- Cossack
- Norman River
- Staaten River
Barges
- SSB1802
- SSB1803
- Chryssus
- Cronus
- Comal
- Colossus
- Carcinos
References
- ↑ "TN 13-04-29 by Regional and Remote Newspapers". ISSUU. 2013-04-29. Retrieved 2015-08-10.
- ↑ "Cruises « Sea Swift – Cairns, Queensland Shipping and Sea Freight". Seaswift.com.au. Retrieved 2015-08-10.
- ↑ Vlasic, Kimberley (2015-02-18). "Indigenous youth find their sea legs with Cairns distribution company and 2014 Queensland Reconciliation Awards finalist, Sea Swift". Cairns Post. Retrieved 2015-08-10.
- ↑ Archived April 20, 2015, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "Our Fleet « Sea Swift – Cairns, Queensland Shipping and Sea Freight". Seaswift.com.au. Retrieved 2015-08-10.
External links
Coordinates: 16°56′48″S 145°46′13″E / 16.94667°S 145.77028°E