Federal Fleet Services attends 2025 Imagine Marine Conference
Federal Fleet was proud to join Imagine Marine and its partners at the 2025 Imagine Marine Conference in Ottawa. The event brought together over 160 stakeholders from across Canada to share ideas and explore innovative ways to strengthen our future marine workforce.
Our President and CEO, John Schmidt, presented Federal Fleet’s proposal to utilize the Asterix as a training vessel, offering up-and-coming Merchant Mariners the opportunity to gain hands-on experience aboard a fully operational ship. The program envisions up to 12 cadets and one training officer on board at a time, receiving mentorship from experienced crew members while completing institute-assigned training tasks and progressing toward Transport Canada and STCW certification. The FFS training proposal, if approved and funded by Canada, would increase the utility and utilization of Asterix, Canada’s unique combat support ship, as well as fast-track Cadets to achieving their TC accreditation, currently hampered by a lack of sea time. This innovative solution would give Canada a training ship capability and allow classrooms to be conducted onboard, followed by real-time watchkeeping opportunities for students, while Asterix is on deployment.
This initiative directly addresses a growing challenge within Canada’s maritime sector. By 2032, nearly 43% of the nation’s maritime workforce is expected to retire, posing a serious risk of skill shortages across both technical and operational domains. Federal Fleet is committed to bridging this gap through a scalable, hybrid training solution designed to strengthen industry capacity and ensure the sustainability of Canada’s maritime expertise.
At Federal Fleet, we believe that a rising tide lifts all boats, and we embody this philosophy every day, both in our operations and in our long-term vision for the maritime industry.
