Industrial action at bulk and container ports across Australia has been averted for the time being.

The Fair Work Commission has called a temporary halt to action by the Maritime Union of Australia (MUA) at container ports operated by Patrick Stevedores.

The Commission has ordered the MUA and Patricks to spend the next 35 days negotiating a new Enterprise Agreement (EA) 'in good faith'.

Patrick operates almost half the nation's containerised ports including Fremantle in Western Australia, Port Botany in Sydney, East Swanson Dock in Melbourne, and Fishermans Islands in Brisbane.

In a separate development, shipping company Svitzer has been successful in getting a yes vote for a single, new EA with tug boat operators that covers officers, deckhands and engineers.

The operators currently work under three different agreements and are represented by three different unions; Australian Maritime Officers Union (AMOU), Australian Maritime Union (AMU) and the Australian Institute of Marine and Power Engineers (AIMPE).

Federal Secretary of the AIMPE, Martin Byrne, said the engineers were overruled in the EA negotiations by members of the other unions and gave a commitment to take no further strike action.

East coast bulk ports from Brisbane to Geelong to Melbourne have previously been affected by the engineers' strike action.

"We expected this outcome but after having had separate agreements for over 20 years we're not happy," Mr Byrne said.

"Those agreements enabled us to deal with specific issues that are of concern to engineers. Listen Duration: 2 minutes 26 seconds 2 m 26 s Listen Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Martin Byrne, AIMPE, says tug boat engineers will halt strike action after latest enterprise agreement with Svitzer ( Babs McHugh ) Download 1.1 MB

"And we're concerned that after this, in the longer run and somewhere else down the track, this may not be the case in a combined agreement.

"Issues such as qualifications of engineers and the duties that engineers are required to undertake.

"And other conditions which we've negotiated in previous enterprise agreements that are perhaps more important to engineers than perhaps to others."

Martin Byrne said Svitzer had given an undertaking that it will not make any changes during the lifetime of the agreement, four years.

"But our concerns are long term concerns, we're looking to the future, the next several enterprise agreement cycles, not just this one."

Svitzer Australia issued a statement in which it described the outcome of the ballot at 'extremely pleasing.'

"At a time when the Australian maritime industry is going through some tough times and has experienced its fair share of job losses, Svitzer's workforce has chosen to put job security ahead of further industrial confrontation," the statement read.

The EA will be lodged with the Fair Work Commission for approval.