About Us

SeaWays Consultants Pty Ltd (SC) is an Australian company established over a decade ago to provide quality training, auditing, assessing and general consultancy to the towage sector.

SeaWays Consultants is the parent company of all SeaWays Group entities.

As well as our general consultancy and training engagements we have established Long-Term Agreements with many towage companies and port operations for live-on-board training, annual competency assessing and operation & vessel auditing. These long-term agreements also include general consultancy and mentoring to internal Training Masters and management.

Whilst the majority of our training and assessing is carried on board a client’s tugs SeaWays does have extensive experience in simulation training as well. SeaWays has a formal agreement with Transas Simulation, the world’s largest simulation company, as their subject matter experts for marine simulation. Together we have made significant improvements to the Transas simulation software pertaining to tug and ship towage operations. So much so that the Transas software is now recognised as the most advanced in this specific sector.

Transas and SeaWays Europe Ltd (SE) share a joint facility in Portsmouth UK that features FMB ShipSim, Engineroom Sim, VTS Sim, TugSim and FMB TugSim, which is the most advanced TugSim in the world.

SeaWays have a number of joint ventures with established simulation training centres strategically located around the world. These include Broome Maritime Simulation Centre (Australia), New Zealand Maritime School (New Zealand) and Hudson Trident (Nigeria). We are currently in discussions to establish another in the UAE.

All these simulation training centres utilise the advanced Transas Software & Modelling as well as the SeaWays Training Programs. All SeaWays training courses undertaken at these training centres are facilitated by SeaWays accredited Training Masters.

Over the last decade we have delivered training, assessing and or consultancy to some 45 towage companies in many countries around the world.

The SeaWays Tugmaster Training Program© has successfully trained and accredited over 700 ASD/ATD/CTS/VSP/RotorTug tug & vessel masters and over 50 pilot boat coxswains.

The SeaWays Training Programs are internationally renowned as not only do they achieve industry Best Practise but do so in considerably less time than the industry norm.

• Uniquely our Training Program proves conclusively Compliance & Competency to all recognised industry standards.
• SeaWays Tugmasters Training Program© is designed to be compliant to formally accredited and audited QA systems and industry standards such as:
• ISO 9001:2008 Code – Clause 6.2,
• STCW95 – Resolution 8,
• ISM Code,
• Port Marine Safety Code,
• UK Nuclear Warship Safety Case,
• DNV Classification Society.

We have facilitated workshops for “The Effective Use of Omni-Directional Tugs” to >400 marine pilots in numerous countries.

SeaWays has been involved as consultants and trainers for the establishment of new towage operations in 16 ports in Australia and overseas.

We have formal Agreement with Transas Simulation to develop simulation software and have established four simulation training centres strategically located around the world.

The competency based SeaWays Tugmasters Training Program© was originally modelled on how training is delivered to RAAF fighter jet pilots. It starts with the very basics and builds progressively to the desired competency standard required to operate a tug solo. Each step is explained and demonstrated by the SeaWays’ training master before the trainee takes control to practise and to master the particular step in the training process.

As far as we are aware the SeaWays Tugmasters Training Program© is the only tugmaster training programme having this approach.

Every step in the development of tugmasters skills is recorded in the training manual of the SeaWays Tugmasters Training Program© by way of check boxes which are themselves grouped together via the relevant exercises. By this system a trainee cannot progress beyond an exercise until both trainee and the trainer sign off that they are ready to progress to the next level.

The formalised and staged approach through progressively more difficult exercises also ensures the trainee (and the tug) are never put into situations they have not developed the skills to handle. At the completion of training a standard non-subjective Competency Assessment is undertaken to assess the skills of the trainee. This involves undertaking a series of manoeuvres we affectionately refer to as the “Competency Circuit”.

SeaWays Europe Ltd

SeaWays Europe (SE) is a UK company established to provide SeaWays’ raft of activities in the European region and to manage the SeaWays Training Academy (STA) in the United Kingdom.

Managing Partners Capt Steve Sandy and Capt Neil Sadler are both highly regarded professionals with an extensive track record of excellence in the towage sector as tugmasters, training masters and senior marine managers.

SeaWays Training Academy UK (STA)

STA is a world-class training facility that provides cost effective advanced simulation tugmaster and pilot training to SeaWays’ clients and for individuals who wish to self fund their own tugmaster training.

It is also the international showroom and research & development centre for Transas Simulation.

There is no question that professional training such as SeaWays programs is an investment that delivers positive outcomes to a company’s bottom line.

This is reflected in tangible and nontangible outcomes:

• Clients regularly inform us that their fuel consumption decreases in the order of 20% following the training.
• This is part is due to training educating tugmasters with regard to:
  • Understanding how consumption increases above the tug’s hull speed,
  • Understanding and having the skills to utilise correct towline lengths to ensure ‘effective bollard pull’ during towage operations.
  • Understanding the effects of a ship’s Low Under Keel Clearance during towage.
  • Having the knowledge of where the ship’s pivot point is during different phases of a towage movement and turning levers in relationship to tug location.
  • Instinctively easing engine power on and off.
• What causes excessive cavitation vibration and how to avoid it. This has a significant impact on long-term maintenance of all the tug’s machinery particularly seals and bearing in the drive chain while increasing fuel consumption and decreasing bollard pull.
• By utilising the tug more effectively towage movements take less time. Time is important as most of the Plan Maintenance is linked to engine hours as well in relation to crew fatigue hours.
• Significant decrease in repair cost related to damage caused by avoidable incidents.
• The protection and on-going development of a company’s reputation in the market place.
• In the event of a serious incident being able to prove Compliance & Competency to a Marine Court of Inquiry, authorities, clients and or insurers.
• The kudos, solace and commercial advantage this type of training structure has with pilots, harbourmasters, clients and authorities of having an independent internationally acclaimed professional training provider overseeing the company’s tugmaster training.

NB: Via its highly refined and structured training programs SeaWays has built its reputation on training tugmasters to what we believe is the highest of industry standards of Best Practise.

This is achieved in approximately half to one third the time others take to achieve lesser outcomes. 

This fact in itself has considerable savings to a company’s training budget.