International Maritime Consultants

What International Maritime Consultants does

International Maritime Consultants, trading as IMC Naval Architects, is an independent Australian naval architecture and marine engineering consultancy founded in 1994 and headquartered in Fremantle, Western Australia, with a secondary presence in Canberra to support Commonwealth engagement. The firm delivers three core service lines: Ship Design (concept through detailed engineering and shipyard production drawings in steel and aluminium, plus vessel modification and conversion), Marine and Offshore Engineering (stability, structural, mooring, motions, transport, lifting and systems analysis), and Marine Consultancy (acquisition management, construction supervision, regulatory compliance). Delivery is supported by digital design tools, RANS Computational Fluid Dynamics, and finite element analysis, with operations governed by an ISO 9001:2000 quality management system, AMSA plan approval accreditation, and DISP membership on the Australian Department of Defence Defence Support Services panel.

IMC serves a global mix of commercial, government and defence clients across fishing, offshore energy, shipping, civil construction, defence, transport, tourism and private vessel sectors. Its customer base spans Australian state and federal agencies (Waikato Regional Council in New Zealand, Vietnamese and Chilean navies/fisheries bodies), resource majors (Mineral Resources' Onslow Iron project), Tier-1 contractors (John Holland, McConnell Dowell Constructors), defence primes (Serco ASPAC) and niche private operators (Pelagic Marine Services). Project work has been executed through shipyards in Australia, Vietnam, Chile, China and Indonesia, indicating a hub-and-spoke delivery model where IMC supplies the design IP and local yards or partners (e.g. NavalPRO in Chile) provide construction.

The business model is project-based professional services sold on a quote basis directly to enterprise and government clients, with revenue generated from design fees, engineering analysis, construction supervision, and acquisition management engagements. The firm operates as a privately held, founder/management-owned consultancy (Managing Director Justin McPherson), with no disclosed institutional investment, parent company, or public listing. Growth to date has been entirely organic, with the firm expanding its addressable market from Australian fishing and tourism into international defence exports and large-scale resource sector marine infrastructure.

Name

International Maritime Consultants

Legal name

International Maritime Consultants

Website

https://imcau.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

International Maritime Consultants (IMC Naval Architects) is an independent Fremantle-based naval architecture and marine engineering consultancy, founded 1994, providing ship design, vessel modification, marine engineering, and acquisition management to commercial, government, and defence clients globally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marine Engineering & Naval Architecture Services

NAICS

Ship Building and Repairing (336611)

SIC

Ship & Boat Building & Repairing (3730)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYIMAJAGAO

Project Management & Owner’s Engineering / Technical Consultancy (Spec Writing, Bid Support, Site Support)

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Marine & Shipbuilding/Ship Design, Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering Services

SECONDARYIMAJAGAJ

Safety, Risk & Compliance Engineering (SOLAS, Class Rules, HAZID/HAZOP, FMEA)

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Marine & Shipbuilding/Ship Design, Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering Services

SECONDARYIMABAKAA

Combat & Auxiliary Naval Vessel Systems

Industrials, Manufacturing & Construction/Aerospace & Defense Manufacturing/Naval Defense Systems & Military Ship Components

Keywords

• Naval architecture
• Marine engineering
• Ship design
• Vessel conversion
• Maritime consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Fremantle

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Professional Consultancy Services: IMC generates revenue through providing naval architecture and marine engineering consultancy services on a project basis. Services include ship design, vessel modification and conversion, marine engineering analysis, and acquisition management.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

International Maritime Consultants (IMC Naval Architects) is an independent naval architecture and marine engineering consultancy headquartered in Fremantle, Western Australia. The firm provides ship design, vessel modification and conversion, marine engineering, and vessel acquisition management services to commercial, private, and defence/government clients. The company was founded in 1994 and operates as a specialist consultancy serving the maritime sector.

Product overview

IMC Naval Architects is an independent Australian naval architecture and marine engineering consultancy offering a comprehensive portfolio of design and engineering services. The core offering consists of three main service lines: Ship Design Services (covering vessel design from concept through production drawings for fishing, offshore energy, shipping, civil construction, defence, transport, tourism, and private vessels), Marine & Offshore Engineering Services (including stability analysis, lift engineering, transport engineering, mooring engineering, motions & seakeeping, deck equipment, and systems engineering), and Marine Consultancy Services (acquisition management, construction supervision, and regulatory compliance). Supporting these are specialized sub-services for vessel modifications and conversions, as well as CFD analysis capabilities. The company utilizes the latest digital design tools and operates to ISO 9001:2000 QMS standards.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ship Design Services Independent naval architecture design services for commercial, private, and defence vessels, providing concept, preliminary, and detailed ship design.
• Vessel Modification and Conversion Services Engineering services for modifying or converting existing vessels to meet new operational requirements, regulatory standards, or mission profiles.
• Marine Engineering Services Specialist marine engineering consultancy covering structural, mechanical, and systems engineering for maritime assets.
• Vessel Acquisition Management Technical advisory and project management services to support clients in evaluating, selecting, and acquiring vessels.

Named customers8 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• NavalPROminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIMC collaborated with NavalPRO in Chile on the design of the DRA Barbieri research vessel for the Chilean Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture. NavalPRO provided local Chilean expertise while IMC delivered the vessel design from their Fremantle office.
• ASENAV ShipyardminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerASENAV shipyard in Chile built the DRA Barbieri research vessel designed by IMC in partnership with NavalPRO.
• Cosco ShipyardminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCosco shipyard in Guangdong, China constructed the 53-metre ATB tugs for Mineral Resources. IMC designed the tugs and provided oversight during construction.
• John HollandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIMC collaborated with John Holland providing extensive engineering analysis for the Belmont Desalination project, including dynamic lift analysis through the splash zone for intake caisson structures.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Arup: Global engineering consultancy with maritime and offshore engineering capabilities, including ship and port-related design and advisory — broader portfolio but competes for owner's engineering and marine consultancy mandates.
• Royal HaskoningDHV: Large international engineering consultancy with a dedicated maritime division providing ship design, port engineering, and vessel advisory services — broader portfolio but overlapping in naval architecture and owner-side maritime consulting.
• AECOM: Global infrastructure consultancy with maritime and port engineering practices, including naval architecture-adjacent design and owner's engineering services — a broader incumbent competing for the same defence and government marine mandates.
• WSP: Global professional services consultancy with maritime and offshore engineering capabilities, providing ship design support and port/marine advisory — broad incumbent competing for similar government and resource-sector work.
• Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore: Major classification society providing plan approval, regulatory compliance, and ship design support services — overlaps with IMC's AMSA plan approval and classification-related engineering work as a larger, established player.

Direct peers

• Houlder: Independent UK-based naval architecture and offshore engineering consultancy providing ship design, owner's engineering, and offshore engineering services — a like-for-like independent peer to IMC.
• BMT Group: Global naval architecture and marine engineering consultancy offering ship design, vessel modification, and owner's engineering services across defence, commercial, and offshore sectors — a directly comparable, larger-scale peer to IMC's service portfolio.
• Glosten: Independent US naval architecture and marine engineering consultancy serving commercial, defence, and offshore clients with ship design, vessel modification, and engineering analysis — directly comparable in business model and independent positioning to IMC.
• Robert Allan Ltd: Independent Canadian naval architecture firm specialising in ship design (notably tugboats and workboats), vessel modification, and marine engineering — comparable in independent consultancy model and tug/workboat design focus to IMC's ATB and harbour vessel work.

Regional players

• SEA Engineering (SEAust): Australian naval architecture and marine engineering firm offering ship design, vessel modification, and marine consultancy — directly comparable as a domestic Australian naval architecture peer competing for the same local and government work.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookweb.facebook.com/IMC.naval.architects
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/imc-naval-architects

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about International Maritime Consultants