The Australian government announced it will establish a strategic fleet of up to 12 Australian-flagged and crewed vessels. The federal government appointed this Taskforce to guide it on the establishment of the fleet, noting it would be privately owned and operate on a commercial basis, but could be requisitioned by the government in times of national crisis such as natural disaster or conflict.

The Taskforce met 17 times to discuss the job the government had asked it to do and deliberate on how to meet the government’s request for advice on establishing a strategic fleet. The Taskforce commissioned research to be undertaken to provide a strong evidentiary basis to its considerations and recommendations. A range of consultation was also conducted to attain ideas and to check the validity of the Taskforce’s thinking and advice. This worked in concert with the development and testing of a number of options across the streams of work the Taskforce was asked to consider in the Terms of Reference.

Key findings:

• The Taskforce believes that building a fleet capable of meeting Australia’s strategic needs will take more than 12 vessels. The maritime industry needs revitalisation and incentives to grow and support our economic and security needs, and to ensure our maritime workforce is skilled appropriately and attracting new entrants for the years to come.
• Without a sustainable pool of Australian-flagged vessels and crew, the ability for government to access a strategic fleet in times of need will be almost impossible.
• To grow the pool of Australian-flagged vessels the cost differential has to be addressed, to encourage the Boards of the owners/operators to make the decision to re-flag and crew with Australians. This will need a mix of approaches to make re-flagging possible.
• The Taskforce does not support a process that would lead to a decline in wages and conditions for Australian seafarers, and believes that the Australian community would expect no less.