‘We need to think bigger’: NORSTA eyes big future for maritime sustainment
City leaders must “think bigger” to capitalise on the opportunity of playing with “global heavyweights” of defence as a naval Regional Maintenance Centre and to lead in sustainment, says the NORSTA Maritime general manager.
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Cairns needs to “think bigger” to capitalise on the opportunity of playing with the “global heavyweights” of the defence industry as a naval regional maintenance centre and become a world leader in sustainment, according to NORSTA Maritime.
Born from a partnership between Tropical Reef Shipyard and Norship Marine in Cairns, NORSTA Maritime delivers the maritime maintenance planning, project delivery and associated assurance services required by the federal government.
Investment by the commonwealth in the regional maritime sustainment model equates to more than $2bn over the next five to seven years.
When NORSTA won its bid for regional maintenance provider under defence’s naval sustainment Plan Galileo it joined industry heavyweights within the new model.
“The other winners of the RMC contracts are Thales for the east and Babcock in the west,”
NORSTA Maritime general manager Colin Ford said.
“These are global heavyweights of the defence industry. We are now collaborating with them at the table to refine the model and make sure it works for not just the navy but also Border Force and our other commonwealth customers as well.”
The region needs to “think bigger” and “outside of our Cairns bubble” to make the most of its perfect position to capitalise on the role as a regional maintenance hub, Mr Ford said.
“The competitive part in attracting more vessels is related to the regional capability and capacity that goes beyond just what is at the waterfront,” he said.
“It is about having houses and roads and infrastructure to attract more workers to the region which will allow us to drive a number of different changes in the industry to attract more vessels including foreign vessels.
“This requires ongoing investment beyond just the Common User Facility which we need to ensure is delivered on time in 2028.”
Mr Ford said Cairns’ geographic location was “very good in terms of having the relationships with our stakeholders in the Pacific nations but also in terms of the step off point to go further north”.
“Some of the challenges in the region we hear about in the media are very real, so being able to respond is part of the mission,” he said.
“We have to make sure the boats are available and the maintenance is done so the navy has an idea of what vessels can go where and when.
“Cairns is in the perfect location to respond to the north.”
Cairns’ position on the Pacific is also drawing our global allies to the region more often and in greater numbers.
“The US Navy and Coast Guard and the Royal Navy are all interested in Cairns because it is about having that geographical presence,” Mr Ford said.
“There is a massive opportunity, not least because of the amount of activity in the region.
“Cairns is a very safe place for foreign navy visits and provides excellent rest and relaxation for these crews which is an important part of the welfare of the crew.
“We want to be able to support them from a maritime position ensuring they are safe and ready to be deployed.”
Mr Ford said it was not just more navy vessels that we can expect in our port.
“A big part of the future for us is in the army which is a big recipient of the fleet upgrade in terms of the littoral craft coming out of that,” he said.
“There is a huge opportunity to support army in water.
“They are effectively a new customer for us, we do some small scale work with smaller boats but their level of importance in the (Defence Strategic Review) makes a big difference to maritime as well.”
Mr Ford said the renewed focus on the north of Australia promises a strong future for the industry in Cairns.
“The DSR is positioning Australia for the next 30 years and it’s a multi-generational thing which will give jobs to our kids and their kids,” he said.
“The shipyards are moving away from that rough and tough culture and it is a lot more diverse than it has been and it is only opening up to more people.
“It’s a very different environment to what is was 20-30 years ago and it is still changing as technology develops with AI, decarbonisation, and things like drones becoming more common driving the need for new skillsets around innovation.”
Maritime Now a Very Different Beast
Built on an industry foundation of agriculture, fishing, tourism, defence and shipbuilding requirements, today’s Cairns maritime sector represents a genuine regional success story that
provides an impressive platform for future growth and prosperity in FNQ.
Many of the small and medium size business in our maritime sector trace their roots back to the heyday of Cairns shipbuilding, where individuals gained their industry technical knowledge and then branched out to apply their business skills to build and contribute to the Cairns regional economy.
Today, many of these businesses boast second and third generations of employees as the maritime baton is passed on from the Baby Boomers to the new Gen Z trainees and apprentices.
Founded in 2021 and based in Cairns, NORSTA Maritime is the Regional Maintenance Provider-North East (RMP-NE), and we deliver the maritime maintenance planning, project delivery and associated assurance services required by the commonwealth.
Success has enabled the creation of a subsidiary in Darwin (NORSTA-North) who operate RMP-North, effectively meaning that NORSTA is the Commonwealth’s pre-eminent maritime service delivery company in northern Australia.
The Cairns-based RMP NE was the first of four RMPs established nationally (Cairns (NORSTA), Darwin (NORSTA), Sydney (Thales) and Perth (Babcock).
Investment by the commonwealth in the Regional Maritime Sustainment model equates to more than $2bn over the next five to seven years.
With all maintenance providers now running, NORSTA now regularly collaborates with industry global powerhouses Thales and Babcock to ensure that Royal Australian Navy vessels are consistently supported wherever they are in Australia.
A key part of NORSTA Maritime’s role is to look five years ahead to determine the regional workforce requirements for homeported and visiting Commonwealth vessels.
To enable this, NORSTA works closely with all three local Cairns shipyards (Tropical Reef Shipyard, Norship, Austal Australia) and HMAS Cairns, to schedule and deliver the numerous regional maintenance and repair activities.
Today’s maritime industry is committed to providing a “safety first” culture that constantly looks for opportunities to embrace innovation and improve delivery performance.
The maritime workplace culture both in port and at sea is very different from yesteryear and even in my lifetime there has been a big shift to embrace workforce diversity and all the benefits that this brings.
Federal, state and private infrastructure investment in the region is critical and will underpin the ability of the Cairns maritime sector to grow, compete and prosper.
It’s important that we develop Cairns’ workforce value proposition, including more housing and community infrastructure to ensure we can attract future workers and their families to the region.
In addition, the on-time delivery of the $360m Cairns Marine Precinct Common User Facility in 2028 will be an important milestone for Cairns, as this provides new capability and capacity for the region.
In turn, continued government and industry investment is vital to provide certainty to small and medium sized businesses and enable them to confidently invest in the apprentices and trainees that underpin the industry’s future.
As a maritime services company we are very aware that the investments and changes we are making today must positively impact the next generation of maritime professionals; and we are proud to contribute to what is a very bright future for the Cairns maritime industry.
Colin Ford is the general manager of NORSTA.
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Originally published as ‘We need to think bigger’: NORSTA eyes big future for maritime sustainment
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