About Sea Swift

Since 1987, Sea Swift has provided shipping and logistics services to coastal and remote communities with one goal in mind – to be Northern Australia’s most reliable shipping service. In the last 37 years, Sea Swift has serviced the Outer Torres Strait Islands, Tiwi Islands, and remote communities of Northern Australia, supplying fuel, perishable food and essential goods and services to customers. Sea Swift is constantly evolving and innovating, with the company values at the heart of all operations: safety, trust, accountability, respect, and service. With a fleet of 24 vessels, Sea Swift offers services including general cargo and freight, oil and gas supplies, project charter, tug and barge and support for industries such as mining, defence, and oil and gas. Our fleet of purpose-built vessels are manned by a trained and skilled workforce which operate with a high level of safety, efficiency and reliability. Sea Swift focuses on local employment, especially remote community and First Nations recruitment. This diversity focus spans across all business sectors, from administration to seafarers, including a trainee program in our depots. Sea Swift has 8 depots across Queensland and the Northern Territory (NT), servicing thousands of customers per year. The depot headquarters are based in Cairns and Darwin, with depots in Gove, Groote Eylandt, Weipa, Seisia/Bamaga, Horn Island and Thursday Island. Our operating footprint comprises a network of vessels which provide services to a range of North Australian customers and communities.
Board of Directors and Executive
Chris Pearce
Executive Chairman
Leisel Moorhead
Director
Wendy Morris
Director
Sarah Dewar
Director
Darren Lambourn
Chief Operating Officer
Helen Mackail
Chief Financial Officer
Andrew Dillon
Head of Project Management
John Ward
General Manager – Assets and Engineering
Danielle Bryant
General Manager – Safety, Risk and Sustainability
Leanne Hulm
General Manager – Corporate Services
Clint Vicary
National Commercial Manager
Tania Carvalho
General Counsel and Company Secretary
Companies we’ve helped
We are experts in a number of key services
General Cargo
Regular service freight
Project & charter
Tug & barge capability
Defence
Supporting Government agencies and naval forces to strengthen our northern borders
Fuel
Fuel capabilities
Engineering
Engineering capabilities
History
1970s
1980-1987
1987
1990
1994
1998
2002
2008
2013
2016
2019
2020

1970s

  • Sid Faithfull was a seafood processor trading as Point Seafoods, Karumba.
  • Identified an opportunity to mothership to the trawler fleet to allow them to stay at sea catching, while their fuel/food/water/packaging was brought to them and their catch transported to market and waste taken away.
  • Acquired the Carlock and re-fitted it to become Sea Swift’s inaugural mothership vessel

Image: Sea Swift vessels, including original vessels Carlock (tug) and Captain Tom (barge), alongside Point Seafoods in Karumba.

1980-1987

  • Point Seafoods – based in Karumba – serviced the fishing fleet in the Gulf of Carpentaria with original vessels Carlock (tug) and Captain Tom (dumb barge)
  • Emu Bay introduced as the next vessel – a self-propelled hopper barge converted to a fishery support vessel.
  • In 1984, the tug Willara and bulk fuel barge 1203 came into service.

Image: Sea Swift Temperature Control Facility in 1987 (Freezer/Chiller)

1987

  • Contract secured for delivery of fuel to Cape York and Torres Strait communities
  • Original service by landing barge Karunda
  • Company name change from Faithfull Management to Sea Swift Pty Ltd
  • Operational base moved from Karumba to Cairns
  • Emu Bay commences a fishery support service from Cairns to the Torres Strait
  • Molunat (heavy lift ship) purchased and converted to sail Cairns to Thursday Island/Seisia delivering coastal cargo
  • Sea Swift awarded State stores contract to deliver essential goods to Lockhart River, Thursday Island and Northern Peninsula Area (NPA) communities

1990

  • Trinity Bay (ex-Leichhardt) commenced operation from Cairns to Thursday Island and Seisia on alternate weeks with the Molunat

1994

  • Molunat converted to a livestock vessel operating internationally
  • Trinity Bay commences weekly schedule to take up Molunat schedule

1998

  • Faseco 103, a laid up sand dredge purchased in South Korea, sailed to Philippines for conversion to cargo vessel to replace original Trinity Bay

2002

  • Sea Swift acquires Brambles North Queensland shipping assets
  • This transaction adds an additional seven vessels to the fleet

2008

  • Sea Swift acquires Endeavour shipping assets

2013

  • Sea Swift purchases Tiwi Barge Service and commences coastal cargo operations to Northern Territory remote communities, and Gove and Groote Eylandt, which adds an additional two vessels.

2016

  • Sea Swift acquires Toll Marine North Queensland and Northern Territory coastal shipping assets, which adds an additional four vessels

2019

  • QGIF enters into a contract to acquire 100 percent of the Sea Swift business to continue the growth of the company.

2020

  • Sea Swift launches its first scheduled international shipping service between Dampier in Western Australia and Singapore, appointing GAC as principal carrier agent.
Our Vision
What we aspire to be ...
To be Northern Australia’s most trusted and valued shipping partner
Our Purpose

Who we are, what we do.

  • We will deliver a safe, consistent and reliable service
  • To create value for our stakeholders
  • To drive sustainable growth
  • To develop high performing teams who operate with a sense of urgency and purpose.

Download Sea Swift’s Strategy On A Page.

Our Values – S. T. A. R. S

These values are at the core of our Sea Swift community:

SAFETY

  • We ensure safety comes first in everything we do
  • We consider safety all our decisions, every day
  • We consider nothing too important enough not to do safely
  • We always have genuine care for ourselves, our team, and the communitY

 

TEAMWORK

  • We achieve more when we collaborate and work together
  • We are upfront and forthright with information & insights
  • We nurture positive relationships at all levels of the organisation across all teams
ACCOUNTABILITY

  • We take responsibility for our actions and own and deliver on our committments
  • We adopt a positive approach to our mistakes to learn and prevent occurance
  • We protect and enhance our reputation
  • We live our values through ethical actions
RESPECT

  • We regard all employees, customers and stakeholders well
  • We value and develop our employees’ diverse talents, initiative and leadership
  • We build trust through responsible actions and honest relationships
  • We make ethical, transparent, and well-intentioned decisions

SERVICE

  • We satisfy our customers and the community with superior value, service and
    respect in a safe manner
  • We communicate honestly and openly with our customers and communities to achieve best results for everyone
  • We do what is right, and we work together to get things done
  • We continually review our approach to identify better ways of working
Safety

Safety is our top priority at Sea Swift.

We operate in some of the most remote and pristine areas of northern Australia, and the safety of our employees, our clients, the people around us, and the natural environment we operate in is of paramount importance to us.

Sea Swift’s business operations comply with the latest national and international shipping regulations and standards, with Health, Safety, Environment and Quality being key drivers for the organisation.

Our objective is to be the leader in marine industry safety.

Sea Swift has achieved the following accreditation:

OHSAS 18001

Occupational Health &
Safety Standard

Through a dedicated HSEQ team and a readily accessible platform across marine and shoreside employees, contractors and visitors.

AS/NZS 4801

Occupational Health &
Safety Management Systems

Through best practice design, implementation and training both internal and external with continued statistical reporting to achieve excellence.

ISO 14001

Environmental
Management

Vital when operating in and through the Great Barrier Reef, the Torres Strait, the Arafura Sea, remote Northern Territory, and across northern Australia. Our key environmental challenges are energy conservation, waste management, and hydrocarbon management.

ISO 9001

Quality Management
System

Through a range of customer and operational interfaces to ensure our service aligns with all required legislation and best practice. Some key aspects for accreditation include food safety control, on-time performance, stowage averages, and customer planning and delivery.

HACCP

Food Safety Management

Implementation of best practices and systems, by applying the Codex Alimentarius HACCP Principles. Continuous training of staff to hold high regard for food safety and quality preservation, and a strong focus on customer service and satisfaction. This renowned risk management technique has built a robust quality assurance environment into our business.

 

SAFETY MONTH – JULY 2024

Our vision for Safety at Sea Swift is “to work safe every day, create a culture where safety is everyone’s responsibility, so we go home safe every day”

Work Safe, Home Safe – It’s not just a slogan; it’s a commitment to ensuring that every person goes home safely every day.

Safety Month (July 2024)

Throughout the month of July, we have a competition open to the children of our Sea Swift families. Children under 18 can either colour in a Sea Swift colouring template or create their own drawing of what their family being safe at Sea Swift means to them.

Safety Month Poster

Safety Month Poster
Colouring Comp – T & Cs

Competition Terms and Conditions
Colouring Comp – Templates

Colouring Sheets templates