Mariners Hub Canada

What Mariners Hub Canada does

Mariners Hub Canada is a Vancouver-based non-profit initiative that operates as a maritime workforce matching platform connecting skilled international seafarers, with a primary focus on Ukrainian mariners, with Canadian shipowners seeking to fill crew positions. The organization positions itself as the first in Canada to systematically utilize Transport Canada reciprocal agreements to enable long-term placement of international mariners in the Canadian fleet, addressing a documented retirement-driven labour gap (3,600+ unfilled positions in 2024; 8,300+ new seafarers needed by 2029). Its core products include the Mariners Hub Canada matching platform, the Mariner Connect hiring and crew placement application, a TC Endorsement Assistance tool for navigating Canadian regulatory requirements, and a confidential Mariners Ethics & Workplace Reporting Line built on Microsoft Forms. Operational partnerships include Brizo Marine for Transport Canada-compliant training and certification, and sponsorship from Over Horizon Inc. tied to Ukrainian-Canadian community fundraising efforts.

The organization is led by Founder and CEO Mariya Ivanytska with Co-Founders Danylo Kyrf and Igor Bondarenko serving as Directors and Chief Engineers, supported by a small team of approximately 3-5 people. Revenue mechanics are dual: charitable donations processed through Stripe (suggested tiers of $25, $50, $100, $250, $500 CAD) and service fees derived from crew placement matching services. Distribution is direct via website, email, and phone, with a digital-first community marketing approach across Instagram and Facebook. The technology stack is conventional and lightweight, with no proprietary AI/ML components disclosed; the Mariner Connect staging application is hosted on Heroku, payments flow through Stripe, and confidential reporting uses Microsoft Forms. The underlying platform functions as a service-and-matching intermediary rather than a technology product business, and the offering's defensibility rests primarily on regulatory process expertise, community trust, and partnership anchoring within the Ukrainian-Canadian maritime ecosystem.

Name

Mariners Hub Canada

Legal name

MarinersHub

Website

https://marinershub.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Mariners Hub Canada is a Vancouver-based non-profit that connects skilled international seafarers, primarily Ukrainians, with Canadian shipowners using Transport Canada reciprocal agreements to address Canada's maritime labour gap, supported by donations and placement service fees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Maritime Workforce Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Water Transportation (4883), Other Support Activities for Water Transportation (48839)

SIC

Water Transportation (4400)

akta.pro primary industry

Marine Service Provider Coordination (Diving, Inspection, Class/Survey Support) (TLAHAJAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Crew, Marine & Offshore Travel Management (THAKACAF), Merchant Marine & Deck Operations (EDAOANAA), Marine Engineering & Engine Room Operations (EDAOANAB)

Keywords

• Maritime crew placement
• Seafarer recruitment
• Mariner immigration support
• Maritime workforce matching
• Shipowner staffing services

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Donations: Accepts charitable donations from the public to support Ukrainian mariners in Canada with documentation and job placement services. Donations are processed via Stripe payment platform.
2. Mariner Placement Services: Provides crew placement and hiring services connecting qualified mariners with Canadian shipowners. Revenue derived from service fees for matching seafarers with shipping companies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Mariners Hub Canada is a non-profit organization that connects skilled international seafarers, particularly from Ukraine, with Canadian shipowners through Transport Canada reciprocal agreements. The organization provides crew placement and hiring services, immigration and documentation support for mariners seeking to work in Canada, and coordinates maritime safety training through partner Brizo Marine. It also offers a confidential workplace ethics reporting line for marine industry workers.

Product overview

Mariners Hub Canada operates as a non-profit maritime workforce platform that offers multiple interconnected services: a core matching platform connecting seafarers with Canadian shipowners, the Mariner Connect hiring platform for crew placements, TC Endorsement Assistance for regulatory navigation, and an Ethics & Workplace Reporting Line for confidential industry reporting. The platform addresses Canada's maritime labour gap by facilitating immigration pathways for international mariners through Transport Canada reciprocal agreements.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Mariner Connect A hiring and crew placement platform for connecting qualified mariners with shipping companies in Canada. It serves Canadian shipowners seeking crew and international mariners seeking employment in the Canadian maritime industry.
• Mariners Ethics & Workplace Reporting Line A confidential reporting system providing marine industry workers with a secure channel to raise concerns about workplace conduct, safety, and compliance. Supports anonymous reporting through Microsoft Forms.
• Mariners Hub Canada Platform A maritime workforce matching platform that connects skilled seafarers with Canadian shipowners, providing immigration pathway support for mariners to work in Canada using Transport Canada reciprocal agreements.

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 3,600 seafaring positions unfilled in 2024; over 8,300 new seafarers needed by 2029

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Brizo MarinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMariners Hub Canada partnered with Brizo Marine to provide comprehensive maritime safety training courses for mariners. This collaboration ensures seafarers have access to high-quality certification programs and professional development opportunities, helping them meet Transport Canada requirements and advance their careers in the Canadian maritime industry.
• Over Horizon Inc.minorGTM or Marketing PartnerOver Horizon Inc. sponsors Mariners Hub Canada. The organizations are joining the Ukrainian-Canadian community's initiative to help protect Ukraine's skies from Russian Shahed drone attacks. A portion of donations support the Odesa Week in Vancouver fundraiser.
• Imagine Marine / Canadian Marine Careers Foundation (CMCF)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerReferenced as source of industry workforce data. Imagine Marine released comprehensive reports detailing the urgent retirement-driven workforce gap in Canada's marine sector, with projections of over 8,300 new seafarers needed by 2029.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Executive Ship Management: Singapore-based ship manager providing full crew management and technical services for international shipowners. Comparable to Mariners Hub Canada as a broad incumbent in crew sourcing and seafarer management, though at materially greater scale.
• Fleet Management Limited: Hong Kong-headquartered ship management group with a large in-house seafarer recruitment and training infrastructure. Comparable because it addresses the same fundamental challenge — recruiting, training, and placing qualified seafarers with shipowners — at global incumbent scale.
• Synergy Marine Group: Singapore-based ship management company with extensive crew management operations across multiple nationalities. Comparable to Mariners Hub Canada as a broad incumbent focused on multi-jurisdictional seafarer sourcing and shipowner crewing solutions.
• V.Group: Global ship management and crew services company operating across crewing, technical management, and maritime workforce solutions. Comparable to Mariners Hub Canada as a broad incumbent in maritime crew placement and seafarer management, though at vastly greater scale and global scope.
• Bernhard Schulte Shipmanagement: German-headquartered ship management group offering crew management, training, and technical services globally. Comparable to Mariners Hub Canada as a maritime workforce and ship management incumbent that combines crewing, training, and regulatory documentation for shipowner clients.
• Marlow Navigation: Cyprus-based ship management company with a large in-house crewing function serving international fleets. Comparable because it solves the same end-to-end problem of sourcing, documenting, and placing seafarers with shipowners, but as a broad incumbent across multiple flag and labour jurisdictions.
• Wallem Group: Hong Kong-based ship management and crewing services firm with a worldwide network of seafarer pools and training centers. Comparable to Mariners Hub Canada as a multi-jurisdictional crewing and ship management incumbent that addresses the same seafarer-to-shipowner matching problem.
• Anglo-Eastern Univan: One of the world's largest independent ship managers with extensive crewing operations across multiple nationalities. Comparable because it solves the same core problem — placing qualified multinational seafarers with shipowners — but as a broad incumbent with established global infrastructure rather than a Canadian non-profit.
• OSM Maritime Group: Norwegian ship management and crewing operator with global seafarer recruiting and training centers. Comparable as a broad incumbent in maritime crew placement, particularly relevant given its emphasis on multi-national seafarer sourcing and regulatory compliance.

Direct peers

• Spinnaker Global: Specialist maritime recruitment and crewing firm focused on placing seafarers into commercial shipping roles. Closest functional peer to Mariners Hub Canada because both operate as dedicated maritime crew placement services connecting qualified seafarers with shipowners, though Spinnaker is commercial and UK-headquartered.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/people/Mariners-Hub-Canada/61580143731485
• Instagraminstagram.com/marinershub_canada?igsh=bnEwM2xya3didXI5&utm_source=qr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Mariners Hub Canada