2 Years
with Austral
“There is an old saying, ‘right place, right time.’ My journey with Austral fisheries couldn’t be truer.”
Sean Kebbell
Fleet Operations | Southern Ocean
How did you start working in the fishing industry?
“I completed a degree in Maritime Engineering at the Australian Maritime College and decided to stay and complete some seafaring tickets.
In the last few weeks of my courses, one of the AMC staff mentioned this company named Austral, and how they needed some crew.”
Life in the Southern Ocean
“Fishing in the Southern Ocean is a weird thing, 32 people stuck on some bits of steel welded together in 10m swell and 60 knots of wind.
Start work at 3am, stop work at 3pm. Day in, day out. Eat, sleep, fish, repeat. The high you get from a huge catch of fish is unparalleled, likewise from no catch.
Once you know how it feels, you understand why our crew come back. Volcanoes and glaciers, it’s a rarity to be able to say you’ve seen Heard Island, the novelty never wore off when I had the opportunity to see it.”
“It’s difficult to put into words what its like to see a snow-capped volcano that’s 2745m tall in the middle of the ocean, chuffing smoke into the air. Its an experience like no other.”
Sean’s Tickets & Qualifications
- Bachelor of Maritime Engineering (Hons) (Naval Architecture)
- Master up to 24m
- Marine Engine Driver II
- Elements of Shipboard Safety
- First Aid