The Tas Bull Seafarers Foundation is pleased to announce that its Seafarer Connect project is partnering with the Victorian Government to deliver free Wi-Fi to international seafarers across four major Victorian ports: Melbourne, Geelong, Hastings (Western Port) and Portland.
Funded through a $500,000 commitment from the State Government’s Support for International Seafarers program, this initiative will allow visiting crews to access reliable internet the moment they arrive in port. For many seafarers who spend months at sea, this means being able to contact family and friends, access essential information, and use digital services without incurring personal costs.
Seafarer Connect provides the technical expertise to make this possible. The project provides portable Wi-Fi infrastructure at the wharf and alongside or aboard vessels, ensuring secure and dependable connectivity in an environment where onboard networks are often unreliable or prohibitively expensive. By removing these barriers, the project delivers a simple but powerful improvement to life at sea.
Our port network is absolutely critical infrastructure for the state.
To be able to make sure that the people operating in our port systems are healthy, they’re connected and they’re happy is absolutely critical to make sure that our economy keeps moving. And that’s why this is a Victorian first we’re proud to be investing in it.
Melissa Horne MP, Minister for Ports and Freight
This partnership also forms part of a wider package of support that includes expanded mental health and welfare services for international crews working in Victorian waters. Reliable digital access plays a critical role in enabling those services, ensuring seafarers are not isolated when help is needed.
Seafarers love it!
Particularly those seafarers who, because of their role on board the ship, are not able to get off the ship whilst visiting the port.
To be able to connect into that Wi-Fi just gives them all those flexibility that they don’t get at sea.
Capt. Warwick Norman AM
The Tas Bull Seafarers Foundation established Seafarer Connect to respond to a practical need identified by port chaplains, welfare agencies and the seafarers themselves: the need for affordable and reliable digital connection. Through collaboration with governments, port operators and industry stakeholders, the project continues to scale and strengthen its network to meet that demand.
The rollout across Victoria represents a significant milestone in this work, setting a standard for how technology can directly improve the welfare of international seafarers.