Team Norsta, an Australian owned and controlled joint venture team of Norship, Tropical Reef Shipyard, Nova Systems and Secora, has been announced as the new Regional Maintenance Provider North East.
NORSTA will be tasked with managing the maintenance of RAN ships in Cairns.
“We are proud to be part of a truly sovereign partnership which is the first of the RAN’s Regional Maintenance Centres for the RANs Plan Galelio Future Maritime Sustainment Model. The contract encompasses the management of maintenance of RAN ships at Cairns Australian-owned and controlled shipyards,” said Jim McDowell, Group CEO, Nova Systems.
“Nova Systems draw on our deep level skills to support the development of an innovative engineering and maintenance solution for the new Regional Maintenance Provider North East contract and will now, as part of Team NORSTA, continue to support NORSTA Maritime through a locally recruited and re-located team.”
NORSTA Maritime has the capacity to service Australian and foreign ships in Cairns in the first agreement of its kind and will be a test site for further agreements.
“Nova Systems is excited to bring our team to Far North Queensland. This opportunity will see the creation of local jobs and a new regional presence for Nova Systems,” McDowell said.
Under Plan Galileo, Defence is focusing naval sustainment on Regional Maintenance Centres (RMCs), of which the first is RMC Cairns (today's announcement is delayed from an initially reported date of Q4 2021).
The second – RMC West at Henderson – is expected next quarter. Defence says it anticipates a 200 per cent local fleet weight increase in Australia’s northeast and an 88 per cent increase in the north through the lifespan of the National Naval Shipbuilding Enterprise.