The amendments would remove the five-voyage minimum requirement for issuing temporary licences for foreign ships and lift restrictions on multi-port visits to allow for greater movement in Australian waters.

The government believes these changes and others would result in greater flexibility of ship movements, lift administrative burdens, and assist the country in meeting its future freight needs.

But Labor believes it would disadvantage Australian shippers and make it easier for crews to be replaced by low-paid foreign workers.

Third-generation mariner Callum Waters said the local industry in particular, and the state’s economy, would be decimated if foreign-flagged ships began operating in the Bass Strait.

“If we lose the Bass Strait, that’s it,” he said.

“There are a lot of families who rely on it to transport cargo.”

Mr Waters’ grandfather Danny was the first principal of the Australian Maritime College’s Launceston campus.

He said if the Bass Strait was opened up to foreign vessels, there would be less Australian seafarers trained at the college and it would likely be reliant wholly on international students.

He said students were being trained on six or seven vessels which operated on the stretch of water yet there were little employment options available once they obtained qualifications after three years of education.

Mr Waters said if the government’s proposed changes were approved, jobs for new Australian seafarers would be close to impossible to get.

He said the federal government should instead consider giving training seafarers the same incentives it provided to other trade apprentices to encourage growth in the industry.

Liberal Senator Eric Abetz said Australia had an ageing fleet that wasn’t been replenished.

“As these ships get older, they get less efficient, they break down more and they cost more to insure,” he said. 

“This is why we’ve seen operators of Australian ships progressively retiring their vessels and not replacing them.

“Without drastic change, the industry will continue to burn out slowly.”