Private company

DMS Maritime

Australian company

DMS Maritime, formerly Defence Maritime Services, is a company providing port services to the Australian Defence Force and Marine Unit. It is a subsidiary of Serco.2 It was founded by P&O Maritime Services.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

DMS Maritime, formerly Defence Maritime Services, is a company providing port services to the Australian Defence Force and Marine Unit. It is a subsidiary of Serco.2

The story

Founded by P&O Maritime Services.1

Defence Maritime Services was founded in 1997 as a 50:50 joint venture between P&O Maritime Services and Serco to fulfill a contract to organise tug boats and ferries and supply and maintain small boats for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). In 2012, Serco bought out P&O's shareholding.

Headquartered in Sydney, it has operations in Cairns, Darwin, Dampier, Fremantle, Western Port, Jervis Bay and Sydney. It currently operates eight oceangoing vessels and over 100 harbour craft and has around 350 staff. The services DMS is contracted to provide to the RAN include operating tug boats and lighters at RAN bases, training members of the RAN, and maintaining RAN warships.

From Wikipedia’s article on DMS Maritime, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Products and brands

60-ton flat-top lighters

FTL 60101

FTL 60102

FTL 60103

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FTL 60104

FTL 60105

FTL 60107

FTL 60108

FTL 60109

FTL 60110

FTL 60111

FTL 60112

FTL 60113

FTL 60114

FTL 60115

FTL 60116

FTL 60117

FTL 60118

FTL 60119

FTL 60120

FTL 60121

Southerly 65 class diving tenders

2001 Dugong

2003 Seal

2004 Shark

Miscellaneous concrete ammunition lighters

CAL 209

CAL 5012

CAL 10011

CAL 10012

CAL 10013

CAL 10014

Wattle class crane stores lighters

CSL 01 Wattle

CSL 02 Boronia

CSL 03 Telopea

Steber 43 naval general purpose workboats

NGPWB 01 Patonga

NGPWB 02

NGPWB 03

NGPWB 04 Sea Dragon

NGPWB 05

NGPWB 06

NGPWB 07

NGPWB 08

NGPWB 09 Sea Witch

NGPWB 10

Noosacat 930 harbour personnel boats

0901

0902

0903

0904

Riviera class VIP launch

38103 Admiral Hudson

Admiral's barge

AB 1201 Green Parrot

Shark Cat 800 harbour personnel boats

0801

0802

0803

0805

Naval work boats

NWB 1230

NWB 1260

NWB 1281 Otter

NWB 1282 Walrus

NWB 1285 Grampus

NWB 1286 Dolphin

NWB 1287

NWB 1288

NWB 1289

NWB 1290

NWB 1291

NWB 1292 Turtle

Halvorsen-design workboat

AWB 4011

40-foot Mk 1 and 1963-design workboats

AWB 404

AWB 421

AWB 423

AWB 424

AWB 436

AWB 440

AWB 1658

AWB 4006

AWB 4007

AWB Mod. II workboat

4010

AWB short and long group cabin workboats

Amethyst

4002

7.2 metre rigid-hulled inflatable boats

27 RHIBS, numbered 0701 through 0727

Radio controlled surface targets

RCST 06

RCST 07

RCST 08

RCST 09

RCST 10

RCST 11

Wallaby-class water and fuel lighters

Wallaby

Wombat

Warrigal

Wyulda

All vessels have been retired and replaced by larger, newer and safer designed craft post-2017.

Torpedo recovery craft

446 Tuna

447 Trevally

448 Tailor

Withdrawn and no longer operated. Vessels have been sold to private owners.

Compact tug

Tancred - Damen ASD Tug 2310

Tug/workboat

Wattle - Damen Stan Tug 1606

Coastal tugs

2601 Tammar

Seahorse Quenda

Seahorse Chuditch

Elwing - Damen Standard built ASD 2411

Waree - Damen Standard built ASD 2411

Medium harbour tug

1801 Quokka

Bronzewing-class harbour tug

Bronzewing

Currawong

Mollymawk

From Wikipedia’s article on DMS Maritime, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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