A SURVEY of seafarers visiting Australian ports has found mariners prioritise internet connectivity and shore leave among their requirements.
AMSA manager, vessel operations Michelle Grech discussed a survey that has been conducted with a view to gauging seafarer experiences of Australian ports.
The Have Your Say on International Seafarer Welfare in Australia survey was launched back in October last year and concluded earlier this month.
Dr Grech spoke at the Wellbeing at Sea Conference 2026 in Adelaide on the theme of Australia’s Obligations under the Maritime Labour Convention.
She said the survey focused on several key welfare areas including internet connectivity, shore access, transport, access to shops, mental health support and hospital care.
She said the aim was to identify areas on which to focus and to validate whether seafarer experiences aligned with their own analysis.
The survey was conducted with the support of welfare providers, port welfare committees and others.
The survey was divided into two sections to encourage seafarers to complete the high-priority questions before choosing to respond to additional more-detailed questions.
Key points:
436 responses received
204 respondents completed the ‘in depth’ survey
210 respondents completed the short survey
Dr Grech said the responses largely “validated our initial thoughts” and that they were “quite pleased” with the level of responses received.
“In terms of priorities, access to Wi-Fi topped the list in terms of the most important service and that was followed by shore leave,” she said.
The vast majority of respondents indicated shore leave was “very important”, albeit this was sometimes difficult given shorter vessel turnaround times at ports.
Survey responses from AMSA. Image: David Sexton/DCN
DCN looks forward to providing more analysis of the survey results in coming weeks.
Dr Grech also spoke about breaches of the Maritime Labour Convention and an increase in complaints made by seafarers as well as welfare providers and the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF).
“We have seen an increase in complaints coming to [AMSA] directly from seafarers, which is also an indication to us about the trust they have in AMSA’s response to their complaints,” she said.
According to AMSA, in 2025 there were:
169 MLC-related complaints
2769 PSC inspections
7561 deficiencies with 1224 being MLC-related
In 2024 there were:
173 MLC complaints
2264 PSC inspections
5958 deficiencies with 957 being MLC related
“So around 15% [of deficiencies in 2025] were linked to MLC breaches. Now 12 of those vessels were detained because of serious MLC non-compliance issues,” Dr Grech said.
“From time to time we also ban vessels from Australian waters when the matter is really serious.”