Key industry players in the Darwin Naval sustainment and Ship R&M industry, Norship/Norsta are offering a solution for the rapid delivery of a fully operational and certified 500Tonne (T) Mobile Travel Lift (MTL) capability for Darwin in early 2025.
Designed to complement the future 5500T Ship lift, this MTL asset will enable the NT to capitalise on opportunities it has to currently support Navy and Australian Border Force & Army in the future, whilst enhancing services for the NT fishing, oil and gas, tourism, and the broader commercial fleet. The MTL will also de-risk reliance on a single ship lift facility at East Arm.
It is also quite clear that even with the best will in the world the Marine Industry Park timeline has slipped, and it will not be operational for some years. Norship/Norsta offer a quick step solution with minimum government co-investment that will bridge the gap and complement the long-term plans for East Arm.
This new capability will immediately kick start the LDC Marine Industry Park at East Arm and offer certainty to current and prospective clients and tenants alike.
The MTL is perfectly sized for Evolved Cape Class (ECCPB) of which 19 will be operated by RAN and for the first Littoral Manoeuvre Vessel (LMV) class of which 18 will be operated by Army-Maritime. A number of these LMV’s have been confirmed to be home ported in Darwin and industry must be developed to support their maintenance in region.
The HMAS Coonawarra lift, or the future 5500t ship-lift are still potential single points of failure. This can result in all out of water work going to other locations. Not only will the additional jobs created by the proposed ship lift be lost, the loss of out of water work will destroy much of the supply chain and workforce who, with no work, will leave Darwin. Once gone the work and the trades will be hard to recover & rebuild.
As the proponents of the MTL, Norship/Norsta currently operate Naval Certified Shipyard & Travel Lift facilities in Cairns, and deliver services to Navy in Darwin and Cairns. The National Defence Strategy and the Surface Fleet Review offer the NT huge opportunities, but without enabling infrastructure, these opportunities will be lost. Reliable & timely regional Ship R&M capabilities are essential to capitalise on the Territory’s strategic position in the Asia Pacific region.
Most global maritime parks offer multiple haul out capabilities. Norship/Norsta are prepared to co-invest with government to deliver a MTL at East Arm. Norship will fund and certify the $10m 500T Mobile Travel Lift component, but government support is needed to provide the Civil works at East Arm.
This is a $20 Million government investment in a project cost of $30 Million. By comparison the Ship Lift project is more than $500 Million. The Norship/Norsta MTL will operate under a common user model for the benefit of everyone and not exclusive use.