New generation City Cats take shape in bustling AusShips boat yard in Brisbane

In the shadow of the Gateway Bridge a next generation CityCat is taking shape alongside a luxury $4m catamaran bound for the new five-star Hayman Island resort. They are just two projects at this bustling boatyard that’s a sign of the industry’s resurgence.

IN the shadow of the Gateway Bridge, a next generation City Cat is taking shape in Tommy Ericson’s bustling AusShips boat yard.

Underneath a huge white canopy, workers are welding the last hull sections of the double deck vessel that will soon be ferrying passengers up and down the Brisbane River.

Further down on the dock at Murarrie’s Rivergate Place precinct, Ericson is checking out another vessel made by AusShips - a luxury $4 million, 100 seater catamaran bound for the new five-star Hayman Island Intercontinental Resort.

AusShips chief executive Tommy Ericson on a new boat about to be delivered to Hayman Island. Picture: Mark Cranitch.

“This is like a Qantas lounge,” says Ericson, pointing to the upper deck of the catamaran that includes leather bound lounge seats and a bar. “This will transport guests from the Hayman Island airport to the resort so it will be their first impression of the island and for many their first impression of Australia. It has to be special.”

FIRST LOOK AT NEW BRISBANE CITY CATS

AusShip’s order book is looking increasingly healthy helped by a lower dollar, buoyant tourism, and increased interest in cruising by the world’s super rich. It has already built three vessels for Hayman Island with another two yet to be built.

WHAT FOOD WILL BE SERVED ON NEW HAYMAN ISLAND RESORT

A luxury catamaran is being built for the InterContinental Hayman Island Resort. Picture: IHG

For Queensland’s boat building industry, the largest in Australia, the increased activity is welcome news after some tough years.

The son of Scandinavian immigrants, Ericson grew up around pleasure craft on Moreton Bay before studying naval engineering and founding AusShips in 2011.

“I suppose being the son of Scandinavians gave me an affinity with the sea but I’m not quite a Viking,” jokes the 38-year-old who has expanded AusShips into a $10 million business whose boats now ply waters as far afield as the Thames in London.

Queensland remains central to boat manufacturing in Australia with companies such as Riviera, Norman R Wright and AusShips helping account for the largest slice of the $4.2 billion sector. Of the almost 2000 shipbuilding, boatbuilding and repair businesses in Australia, 32 per cent are based in Queensland.

The new generation City Cats, Brisbane. Photo: Supplied

“South-East Queensland is quite powerful in boat building and Australia overall is highly expert in making aluminium boats,” says Ericson.

JOBS GO BEGGING ON HAYMAN, DAYDREAM ISLAND RESORTS

According to a KPMG report on Australia’s marine industry, the decade-long mining boom that ended in 2012 forced up the Australian dollar to a level that made our boat builders less competitive overseas.

However, the falling Australia dollar in recent years combined with free trade agreements with countries such as China and Korea has given them a boost.

Ericson says a key strength of his company is that it is a “one-stop shop” doing everything from designing the vessel to delivery of the finished product.”

Chief Executive Tommy Ericson on a new boat about to be delivered to Hayman Island. Pic Mark Cranitch.

But building boats from the ground up is not the only game in town. Ericson says between 20 and 40 per cent of the business is now refit and conversion, particularly of superyachts for rich-listers.

AusShips has just completed a refit of a so-called shadow yacht, the name for a yacht that follows the main superyacht around the world’s maritime playgrounds equipped with “toys” such as helicopters, submarines and jet skis.

“The refit we did for a US businessman’s shadow yacht included adding a helicopter deck as well as space for a submarine,” says Ericson, who in his spare time sails a more modest catamaran around Moreton Bay with his young family.

“This is a market that wasn’t around 10 years ago but we do good work in Australia and it has been helped by the lower dollar.”

Last year, the seafaring ultra-rich spent $2.9 billion on super yachts — a 21 percent increase from 2016.

Brisbane boat builder AusShips employs 30 permanent staff. Picture: Mark Cranitch

He says retaining boat building skills - everything from specialist marine welding to electrical work - was important to keep the industry viable for the future.

“We lose a lot of people to other sectors such as mining,” he says. “The problem is it’s a very cyclical industry. You can be building a fleet of City Cats, but when that ends you don’t have any projects to roll onto.”

There has been a significant decline in boat-related apprenticeships and traineeships, falling from a peak of 1100 in 2008 to 363 in 2016. He says the strategy of AusShips, which employs 30 permanent staff including a number of apprentices, was to have a diverse range of projects in its order book to keep workers busy.

Ericson says AusShips, which won manufacturer of the year in last year’s Australian Superyacht Industry Awards, is helped by its location in the Rivergate Place precinct which gave it easy access to marine tradespeople and specialist technicians.

A new luxury catamaran built for Hayman Island. Picture: Mark Cranitch.

“We use local suppliers except for components we can’t source here such as engines,” he says.“In the Rivergate precinct we utilise people like marine upholsterers and electricians so it’s quite handy.”

Boat building has changed in recent years with the use of new technologies such as 3D printing and the use of composite materials.

“We are building the roof of the Hayman Island’s catamaran out of composites because it gives us a better shape and also reduces maintenance requirement,” he says.

A City Cat catamaran plying the Brisbane River. Picture: AAP Image/Jono Searle

He says Australian boat builders such as AusShips are competing in a global market place where competitive pressures were building.

“Globally this a very small industry but our cost base is higher than other countries so we have to compete on quality and being able to deliver on schedule,” he says.

“We are all passionate about manufacturing in this country but Australia’s location is a problem for us because it can cost half a million dollars to ship a vessel to the UK. We also have additional compliance costs like health and safety.”

After annual revenue growth of up to 50 per cent in recent years, Ericson says the aim is to consolidate. The company recently became the first shipyard in Australia to be awarded a certification from London marine underwriters Lloyds.

“For us it is not about being the biggest but the best,” he says. “We have turnover circa $10 million and it is now about consolidation. I do see us moving into perhaps building small motor yachts and maybe some military work.”

In the meantime, Ericson has enough projects on the books to keep him busy. “You get a great deal of satisfaction seeing a vessels go from an idea on a piece of paper to the finished product,” he says.