NQEA

Last updated

NQEA Pty Ltd
Founded1948;76 years ago (1948)
Headquarters,
Australia
ServicesShip builder
Website www.nqea.com.au
HMAS Townsville in 1990 US Navy DN-ST-90-08224 HMAS Townsville (FCPB 205) cropped.jpg
HMAS Townsville in 1990
RiverCat Shane Gould in May 2006 Rivercat1.JPG
RiverCat Shane Gould in May 2006

NQEA Pty Ltd [1] is an engineering and shipbuilding company based in Cairns, Australia. The company was founded in 1948 as an engineering supply company named North Queensland Engineers & Agents, then expanded in 1966 into shipbuilding and was renamed. [2]

NQEA has built several ships for the Royal Australian Navy (including the Fremantle-class patrol boats and Leeuwin-class survey ships). [3] The company was contracted to build modules to form the hulls of the Hobart-class air warfare destroyer project in May 2009, but lost the contract a month later to BAE Systems Australia after admissions that an internal restructuring may lead to difficulties meeting the contracted obligations. [4]

The company has also built catamaran ferries for the State Transit Authority (now operated by Sydney Ferries), London based Thames Clippers, and operators in French Polynesia and the Netherlands. [5] [6]

Ships built

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HMAS <i>Vendetta</i> (D69)

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<i>Leeuwin</i>-class survey vessel

The Leeuwin class is a two-ship class of hydrographic survey vessels operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Leeuwin and Melville were ordered from NQEA Australia in 1996, and were commissioned in 2000. The ships are capable of charting waters up to 6,000 metres (20,000 ft) deep, carry three Fantome-class survey boats, and could operate an AS 350B Squirrel helicopter. In addition to surveying duties, since 2001 both vessels have been used to supplement the RAN patrol force. Leeuwin and Melville are based at HMAS Cairns, and are active as of 2023.

HMAS <i>Dubbo</i> (FCPB 214)

HMAS Dubbo, named for the city of Dubbo, New South Wales, was a Fremantle-class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

HMAS <i>Ipswich</i> (FCPB 209)

HMAS Ipswich, named for the city of Ipswich, Queensland, was a Fremantle-class patrol boat in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

HMAS <i>Melville</i> (A 246)

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HMAS Whyalla, named for the city of Whyalla, South Australia, was a Fremantle-class patrol boat of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

HMAS <i>Gawler</i> (FCPB 212) Royal Australian Navy patrol boat

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HMAS <i>Gladstone</i> (FCPB 216)

HMAS Gladstone, named for the city of Gladstone, Queensland, is a Fremantle-class patrol boat, formerly of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Built by NQEA during the early 1980s, Gladstone was commissioned into RAN service in 1984.

HMAS <i>Geraldton</i> (FCPB 213)

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HMAS <i>Geelong</i> (FCPB 215)

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HMAS <i>Tingira</i>

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References

  1. Aimtek Pty Ltd formerly NQEA Australia Pty Ltd formerly North Queensland Engineers & Agents Pty Ltd Australian Securities & Investments Commission
  2. North Queensland Engineers and Agents Pty Ltd (1948 - c. 1990) Encyclopedia of Australian Science
  3. 1 2 3 Saunders, Stephen (2005). Jane's Fighting Ships 2004-2005. Coulsdon: Jane's Information Group. pp. 30–31. ISBN   0-7106-2623-1.
  4. Grevatt, Jon (30 June 2009). "NQEA loses block-building deal for Australian destroyers". Jane's Navy International. Jane's information Group.
  5. "River Runner Vessels". NQEA. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  6. 1 2 "Our Fleet" (PDF). Thames Clippers. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
  7. Betty Cuthbert Ferries of Sydney
  8. Dawn Fraser Ferries of Sydney
  9. Evonne Goolagong Ferries of Sydney