Several ferry services in Auckland are about to be scrapped after Auckland Council announced Fullers360 will no longer operate some routes.

From 1 October, Fullers will not operate the Birkenhead, Te Onewa Northcote Point and Bayswater routes.

Auckland Transport said it was committed to providing services for the affected ferry routes.

Reduced services will also be in place for the Gulf Harbour and Half Moon Bay routes for the next 14 to 18 months while an accelerated ferry crew training programme was underway.

Fullers said the changes would help it redistribute its resources to speed up training and development, to get on top of the crew shortage issues.

In a statement, AT executive general manager of public transport services Stacey van der Putten said its focus was minimising the impact on commuters.

"We're working at pace to explore options for an alternative ferry operator to run some services on the Birkenhead, Te Onewa Northcote Point and Bayswater routes.

"The ongoing shortage of qualified ferry crew means it is not possible to reliably run AT's full ferry network and to train meaningful numbers of new ferry crew members at the same time."

Van der Putten said while the changes would be disappointing for affected communities, the training programme would ultimately improve ferry services across the city and build "resilience in the workforce" when full services returned.

"Our teams are exploring options for additional bus services to complement the existing bus routes serving customers travelling from Birkenhead, Te Onewa Northcote Point, and Bayswater, as well as customers travelling off-peak from Gulf Harbour and Half Moon Bay."

Fullers360 chief executive Mike Horne said the training would help the company progress its staff quickly through qualifications and vessel sign-offs.

"We have long signalled there is no quick fix to resolving the maritime skills shortage that has impacted Fullers360," Horne said.

"With support from Auckland Transport to redistribute our resources to accelerate training and development, we will be able to progress up to 30 qualified crew to either deckhand or skipper in the next 14-18 months."

Horne said the maritime ferry industry in New Zealand as a whole would benefit - given the shortage of skilled workers in the industry.

"Alongside our domestic and international recruitment efforts, and the improved residency pathways for skilled maritime workers, the accelerated training program will additionally provide solutions to New Zealand's shortage of skilled maritime workers through building the future pipeline of New Zealand marine talent."