The Fair Work Commission has ordered Svitzer Australia to scrap its planned lockout of tugboat workers tomorrow.

The commission on Thursday ruled it was satisfied the lockout of maritime workers would cause significant damage to the Australian economy. 

Earlier this week, the Danish-owned company announced it would shut out almost 600 tugboat workers from 17 ports across the county. 

The commission heard if the action went ahead, shipping would be reduced by 90 per cent at the majority of ports where the company operated.

It is yet to be decided whether the commission will suspend the industrial action for a set amount of time or terminate it completely.

A termination would trigger a forced mediation between the company and the unions.

The company has been bargaining with the unions for three years over a new enterprise agreement.

It said it was left with no choice but to push for a lockout after a recent surge in industrial action. 

During the hearing, Mark Gibian SC, on behalf of the Maritime Union of Australia, said Svitzer had chosen "the nuclear option" to force the commission to terminate the action and put both parties into arbitration.

"[Svitzer] doesn't want to bargain with the unions anymore," he said.

Svitzer Australia's barrister Stuart King SC said it was fruitless suspending the action for a few months after three years of failed negotiations.

"Is there any real point in allowing the two parties to continue to slug it out?" he said.

It came a day after the federal minister for workplace relations labelled the planned lockout an act of "economic vandalism".

Tony Burke said the action would cripple supply chains, with Svitzer holding a near-monopoly on tugboat services across the country.

Svitzer had planned an indefinite lockout in response to what it described as "damaging" industrial action from the Maritime Union of Australia.