Steamships Ship Management Partners with Australia Awards PNG to Advance Maritime Careers for PNG Women

Steamships Logistics has an extensive presence across Papua New Guinea, operating 16 offices and agencies nationwide. This broad footprint allows us to deliver reliable, end-to-end logistics solutions tailored to the diverse needs of our customers and the regions we serve.

Steamships Ship Management (SSM) is pleased to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Tetra Tech Development Pty Ltd, delivery partner of the Australia Awards PNG Program, to resume the Women in Maritime (WIM) scholarship, further expanding access to maritime education, sea time training and career pathways for women in PNG.

The scholarships will fund coursework at the Papua New Guinea Maritime College, along with participant stipends, travel and insurance support. Under the partnership, SSM will provide structured sea-time training placements, onboard supervision and mentoring support for up to ten women annually pursuing Officer of the Watch (Deck) and Officer of the Watch (Engine) qualifications. The initiative is designed to help close critical workforce gaps in PNG’s maritime sector while addressing longstanding gender imbalances in the shipping industry, an industry that has historically been male dominated. By combining classroom study with real sea-time experience aboard SSM vessels, participants will graduate with internationally recognized qualifications and practical industry experience that will strengthen their future career opportunities in the maritime
sector.

“This partnership gives young PNG women real hands-on experience at sea and a genuinepathway into careers that have too often been closed to them. SSM is proud to open our vessels and our expertise to support the next generation of PNG seafarers, and we look forward to building more similar partnerships that empower women in our industry. We’re grateful to the Australian Government for their continued investment in the Australia Awards Program enabling collaboration to support the development of PNG’s maritime workforce,” said Nicholas Fisher, Executive Advisor Marine Fleet & Investments, Steamships Logistics Division.

The MOU took effect on 8 July 2026 and will run until 30 June 2027, with the partnership governed by a join steering committee that will meet quarterly to oversee progress, share learnings and identify further opportunities for collaboration.