Sustainability & Community Engagement
This page is about North Marine in the Community. To learn about our Environmental Commitments, visit:
Giving back to the community is extremely important to North Marine.
We are committed to building genuine long-term relationships, developing employment pathways and supporting the communities in which we are privileged to work.
Visiting students from Cape York House
On this page:
- Equal Employment Pathways – North Marine in the Community
- Supporting Youth & Indigenous EMPLOYMENT
- North Marine’s Traineeship Program
- Work Experience Placements
- ‘Breaking the Cycle’ – Mentor Volunteers
- Regional Jobs Committee
- Supporting Youth & Indigenous EMPLOYMENT
- Supporting Local Organisations
- COMMUNITY Organisations
- AFL Cape York House – A Positive Future for Indigenous Australian Youth
- Cairns Local Marine Advisory Committee (LMAC)
- PCYC Queensland’s Youth Employment Programs
- ENVIRONMENTAL Organisations
- Reef Restoration Foundation
- Citizens Of The Great Barrier Reef (Founding Partner & Ongoing Support)
- James Cook University’s Coral Larval Restoration Project
- WWF – Rivers to Reef to Turtles Project
- COMMUNITY Organisations
- Environmental Initiatives
Equal Employment Pathways – North Marine in the Community
At North Marine, we’re committed to improving employment opportunities and up-skilling local workers to accommodate role shortages within the maritime economy.
Supporting Youth & Indigenous Employment
We’re dedicated to our region’s outlook and are proudly invested in developing training pathways into our industry.
North Marine’s Traineeship Program
Proudly the first of its kind in Far North Queensland – North Marine provides maritime training programs for young and indigenous community members.
Learn more
Our aim is to provide long-term job opportunities within the maritime sector.
The first intake of our esteemed ‘Commercial Diving Traineeship Program‘ commenced in 2021, with 50% indigenous participation and 100% FNQ local enrolments.
Our trainees were supported through their formal courses at the Commercial Dive Academy in Tasmania, graduating as qualified ADAS Part Two Commercial Divers in mid-2022.
Furthermore, our trainees are provided with practical training in the workforce and are given further qualification opportunities.
Examples of some ways we’ve up-skilled our employees are; marine engineering (MEDII) courses, forklift operator licences, heavy-rigid (HR) driver licences, and first aid/CPR training qualifications.
To date, all graduates that have successfully completed their occupational training have been offered full-time employment with North Marine.
Regional Jobs Committee
North Marine is a member of the local Regional Jobs Committee. An invitation-only initiative of the Queensland government.
Learn more
Far North Queensland’s local Regional Jobs Committee is an initiative of the ‘Department of Employment, Small Business and Traning.’
In this capacity, North Marine works with other local community stakeholders to improve training and employment pathways, identify future growth within the industry and deliver local solutions.
Work Experience Placements
Work experience is an excellent opportunity for young people who are finishing school to explore the possibility of a career on the water.
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North Marine offers limited work-experience placements to year 12 high school students.
At North Marine, we are eager to encourage young talent in the region and support a future generation of seafarers.
‘Breaking the Cycle’ – Mentor Volunteers
North Marine supports learner drivers without access to a supervisor or registered vehicle to complete their logbook hours. In this capacity, we provide young people with increased employment opportunities, community connection and driver education.
Learn more
Improving employment opportunities for young people in our community is something North Marine passionately supports.
Some North Marine crew volunteer their time for the Police-Citizens Youth Club of Queensland, aka the PCYC.
These incredible North Marine crew members volunteer their time, as Volunteer Driver Mentors for the Braking the Cycle Program.
The program is designed to support learner drivers without access to a supervisor or registered vehicle to complete their logbook hours.
In this capacity, our volunteers provide young people with increased employment opportunities, community connection and driver education.
Since its inception, Braking the Cycle has received numerous awards.
These include the Australian Road Safety Awards, Queensland Reconciliation Awards, Regional Achievement & Community Awards, National Crime and Violence Prevention Awards, and the Prince Michael International Road Safety Award.
About PCYC Queensland
The PCYC offers youth and community development initiatives.
Programs aim to positively impact local cohesion and build safer communities.
Supporting Local Organisations
North Marine supports a range of social and environmental organisations in North Queensland.
We are committed to giving back by participating in causes that support a positive future.
Community Organisations
Proudly a COGBR Founding Partner
AFL Cape York House - A Positive Future for Indigenous Australian Youth
Cape York House is a not-for-profit organisation that provides education, support and accommodation for young indigenous Australians.
North Marine’s ongoing relationship with Cape York house allows us to facilitate events and showcase maritime career opportunities to young indigenous people.
View the recent article that appeared in the First Nations Telegraph, the Cairns Post and Cape York Weekly – where North Marine connects Sea Swift and Cape York House to provide a tour of their marine facility in Cairns.
Further to this, in an initiative to foster training pathways for the young and indigenous in the community, North Marine created a “Commercial Dive Traineeship Program.” Our commercial dive trainee program is the first of its kind in the region. (Read more about this program above).
Cairns Local Marine Advisory Committee (LMAC)
Local Marine Advisory Committees are an Australian Government initiative, led by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA).
By sitting on the Cairns LMAC, North Marine can offer insight and advice on matters affecting the region. These include Marine Park issues such as environmentally sustainable practices, ecology, and use.
Cairns LMAC enables community stakeholders to provide effective input and observations regarding the management of the Great Barrier Reef.
A long history of advocating for the Reef
North Marine has a long history of advocating for practical measures that protect the Great Barrier Reef.
In the ’80s and ’90s, the company’s founder, Tim North, campaigned for the installation of permanent moorings throughout the marine park.
The goal was successful, and to this day moorings minimise the environmental impact of anchors.
Today, North Marine is developing another environmentally friendly mooring system, to protect the natural ecosystem further and minimise footprint.
PCYC Queensland's Youth Employment Programs
Improving youth employment opportunities is a cause North Marine passionately supports.
Some North Marine crew volunteer as Volunteer Driver Mentors for the Braking the Cycle Program.
Please read more about our involvement with this project, in the ‘Supporting Youth & Indigenous Employment’ area at the top of this page.
About PCYC Queensland
The PCYC (Police-Citizens Youth Club) offers youth and community development programs in low socio-economic areas.
Their initiatives aim to impact local cohesion and build safer communities.
Environmental Organisations
Reef Restoration Foundation
North Marine proudly donates the skills, time and resources of our Commercial Diving Department to the Reef Restoration Foundation.
Their critical and valuable work aligns with our values for reef preservation, and in this instance, coral regeneration.
The Reef Restoration Foundation is a not-for-profit whose goal is to address climate change, water quality and other pressures affecting the Great Barrier Reef.
Installing a Coral Nursery at Fitzroy Island, Queensland
North Marine is delighted to donate our fantastic commercial dive team’s time, resources and expertise.
Our skilled divers were deployed to assist with the installation of a ‘coral tree nursery’, at Fitzroy Island Resort, on Queensland’s Great Barrier Reef.
Citizens Of The Great Barrier Reef - Founding Partner & Ongoing Support
North Marine is proudly a Founding Partner of the Citizens of the Great Barrier Reef, and we pledge to them our ongoing support.
Every year, North Marine actively participates in their Great Barrier Reef Census.
With the first commercial vessels to ever participate in the study, the North Marine fleet collects critical data.
Having surveyed over 200 reefs by the end of 2022, we have committed to continuing our relationship in 2023.
Because our work covers an extensive area of Queensland waters, we collect data from reefs as far and wide as Townsville in the south to the Torres Strait Islands in the north.
The ‘Great Reef Census’ is delivered in partnership with The University of Queensland, the state Great Barrier Reef Marine Park and the Australian Institute of Marine Science.
James Cook University - Coral Larval Restoration Project
Watch the terrific video below, where North Marine’s commercial dive division install coral larval collection structures for James Cook University’s ‘Coral Larval Restoration Project‘.
North Marine installed the structures on the Outer Great Barrier Reef, at Moore Reef Queensland.
These coral larval collection structures aim to gather valuable data samples to assist in the research of coral reproduction.
The research work is hoped to rapidly advance the potential for large-scale reef recovery.
» View the video of the project in action!
WWF - Rivers to Reef to Turtles Project
North Marine’s tugboat, the Gulf Explorer, participated in WWF-Australia’s “Rivers to Reef to Turtles Project”.
The vessel, crew and scientists voyaged to a far-north section of the Great Barrier Reef, to the remote and isolated Howick Group of Islands.
The trip focus was for Researchers to undertake turtle health sampling. This included tagging, weighing and measuring the turtles for population studies, assessing their genetics and undertaking toxicological environmental sampling.
Further, the study collected data for other complementary projects, which included Researchers collecting data from 15 dugongs.
The Rivers to Reef to Turtles Project was supported by the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service (QPWS) and the Queensland Government’s Department of Environment and Heritage Protection (EHP).
You can view our involvement by downloading the ‘River to Reef to Turtles Research Update Howick August 2015 PDF’ from the WWF Resources Library.
James Cook University - Minke Whale Project
The Minke Whale Project is a non-profit research group established by James Cook University to support research into dwarf minke whale biology and behaviour.
North Marine supplied the use of vessels for the Minke Whale Project, on a voyage on the Great Barrier Reef.
The primary purpose was to attach satellite tags to the whales to learn about their migration habits.
Over three seasons, the Minke Whale Project was able to attach temporary satellite tags to twenty-six whales.
Because of contributions from scientists, research volunteers, and crew photographs, the team at JCU were able to conduct the most complete data analysis from digital imagery – following the voyages undertaken that year.
Environmental Initiatives
North Marine is engaged in a broad range of environmental commitments. To learn about the things we do, please visit our Sustainability & Environment page, here:
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*Links on the North Marine website to external entities & content are the responsibility of that entity and are provided for informative purposes. North Marine takes no responsibility for the content or opinions offered therein.