Four young Solomon Islanders have been awarded maritime cadetship scholarships with PNG marine services company, Pacific Towing (PacTow). Upon graduating as Officers of the Watch from the international program of theoretical as well as practical training, the awardees will initially be employed at PacTow’s tug base in Honiara. PacTow anticipates offering additional scholarships to Solomon Islanders in its quest to bolster its own workforce in the region, as well as to help grow Solomon Islands’ next generation of seafaring professionals. As an equal opportunity employer, the company is particularly keen to recruit additional female cadets.
Founded in PNG in 1977, PacTow introduced its first cadetship programme more than two decades ago. In 2018 it invested in another programme focussed purely on fast tracking the seafaring careers of women. The ‘Women in Maritime’ cadetship programme is in partnership with the Australian Government, Consort Express Lines, and Swire Shipping. Both cadetship programmes take four years to complete.
The recently awarded Solomon Islander scholarship holders will undertake approximately eight months of preliminary study and work experience in Solomon Islands prior to embarking on their actual cadetships in January 2026. This April will see the awardees commence nearly two months of basic seafaring training, including Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) training, at the Maritime College of Solomon Islands National University. They will then gain valuable practical work experience at PacTow’s Honiara tugboat operation until the end of the year.
Early 2026 will see the awardees relocate to Fiji to undertake a full year of study at the National University’s Pacific Centre for Maritime Studies (PCMS). General Manager of Pacific Towing, Gerard Kasnari concedes that he had initially planned for the awardees to commence their Fiji studies this year. However, he believes that “the preliminary study and practical experience they get in Honiara over the next eight months will be a great advantage to them in the classroom in Fiji.”
Upon successful completion of their studies at PCMS the cadets will undertake two years of sea-time training. Consort Express Lines, one of PacTow’s sister companies and PNG’s largest coastal shipping operation, will provide the cadets with coastal shipping experience. International experience, on considerably larger and more technically advanced vessels on some of the world’s busiest shipping routes, is slated to take place on Swire Shipping vessels. The cadets will also work on PacTow’s fleet of tugs during this two-year period where they will assist vessels berth and unberth, as well as be exposed to emergency operations such as salvages and oil spill responses.
Once the cadets have completed their two years of sea-time they will return to PCMS in Fiji for additional study and their exams. Upon graduating as ‘Officers of the Watch’ – either Deck or Engine – they will take up full time employment with PacTow. However, their qualifications will also enable them to later secure employment across a broad spectrum of maritime operations throughout Melanesia, as well as much further afield.
Kasnari notes that “Melanesia has an aging seafaring workforce, the international standards which we operate to are getting higher, and vessels are becoming more sophisticated. As a business we therefore need to be training a new generation of maritime professionals – men and women – to ensure that we not only have enough seafarers to operate, but that we also have the very best. Also, as a good corporate citizen, and as a well-established and successful business that has prospered from our operations in the region, it is important for PacTow to ‘give back’. Helping Solomon Islands grow its maritime workforce is just one of the ways we’re doing this. We would also like to invest in maritime scholarships for young Fijians if our business expands further there as planned.”
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PacTow has had a permanent business operation in Solomon Islands since 2012. In addition to its core business of harbour towage it has conducted a number of salvages in Solomon Islands’ waters. Likewise, it has conducted salvages in Fiji where it also has a registered business.
PacTow is Melanesia’s largest marine services business. It employs more than 250 staff and has a fleet of 20 vessels. It provides a broad spectrum of marine services including towage, emergency response, commercial diving, life raft services, and salvage. PacTow is part of a larger sea and land logistics group wholly owned by Steamships Limited. To learn more about PacTow: www.pacifictowingmarineservices.com.
