Port Support: Australian Boat Builder Delivers to Port of Gladstone

A small-but-mighty Australian boat builder is further demonstrating their workboat design & build capabilities with the delivery of another vessel to operate in the Port of Gladstone.

Over the past 12 years, Queensland-based aluminum boat builder BTB Marine has built and delivered 13 workboats, fast landing craft and other commercial vessels built specifically for marine duties in busy Gladstone harbor.

The latest new build “ECLIPSE” an 8-meter offshore line handling vessel, was delivered to new owners RC Marine last week, their fourth workboat order from BtB Marine for their Gladstone fleet.
RC Marine Director Col Andersen was excited to welcome ECLIPSE into their fleet “We know from experience that BtB Marine boats are up the job we ask of them, often in less-than-ideal conditions. 

The safety of our crew and respect for our environment are key issues for us, and BtB Marine have gone above and beyond to accommodate specific applications required to carry out some of the most challenging work in the Gladstone region. BtB have the can-do attitude which gives them a great edge when it comes to customer satisfaction, hence the continuity of vessels supplied to us at RC Marine.”

ECLIPSE is powered by a 320Hp Mercury diesel 4.2L and was built in BtB Marine’s Hervey Bay workshop and launched at Murphy Shiplifts at Urangan last week. The vessel design is testament to the practical, can-do attitude of BtB Marine General Manager Chris Hough, derived from over 23 years maritime experience as Seaman and Master, and 12 years building boats for the commercial workboat market. Fit-for-purpose with just the right fit-out, ECLIPSE is a functional and seaworthy design built for offshore operations and will get the job done without a hitch.

Chris went to sea when he was fifteen, and both he and business partner Eva (BtB Marine’s Managing Director) share significant commercial skippering experience – the kind of experience that has given them the foresight to develop the BtB Marine range.

“BtB Marine has always come from a philosophy of looking at better ways to build cost-effective vessels,” said Chris. “Reliability and practicality are paramount issues for fleet operators, and our vessels continually deliver minimal maintenance downtime for them. Ports as busy as Gladstone need reliable, efficient workboats to perform a wide range of duties, and BtB Marine’s vessels have been performing remarkably in Gladstone harbor for Gladstone Ports Corporation, RC Marine and other port contractors for many years.”

ECLIPSE joins BtB Marine-built sister ships RAHAJA an 8m line handling workboat and COLANDO a 12m fast landing craft in RC Marine’s fleet. INDEPENDENCE, another 8m BtB Marine offshore workboat built for RC Marine, is currently in PNG.

BtB Marine is also currently leading the way in next generation cost-effective commercial workboat designs in the Asia-Pacific region, embracing new diesel outboard technology to reduce emissions and improve efficiency and OPEX. BtB Marine’s new 7.5m Ultra Long Range 750 ULR workboat INDIGO is a trailerable design powered by a 200 Hp OXE Diesel Outboard, giving it a range of 600 nautical miles and requiring only 200-hour service periods.

BtB Marine designed the 750 ULR range with Port workboat duties in mind. Applications include port security, logistics, crew transfers, supplies, environmental, fast response fire-fighting, oil spillage, border patrol, reconnaissance, dive vessel, unmanned autonomous vessel operations, harbor maintenance, scientific research and hydrographic missions, with customized layout and cab arrangements possible depending on the role required for the vessel.

“The 750 ULR design with the OXE Diesel Outboard is a versatile boat that can deliver a wide range of work, patrol and transfer operations cost-effectively, both with its initial cost and operating costs,” Chris explained. “We believe environmental issues are more important than ever and feel that small vessels lend themselves to these many and varied roles particularly well.”

BtB Marine’s cost-effective commercial workboats provide essential support to a busy port, and their new 750 ULR further expands those capabilities significantly.