What Commercial Marine Australia does

Commercial Marine Australia (CMA) is a Brisbane-based, privately held aluminium boat builder founded by Justin Taylor and Ainslie Pankhurst. Operating from a Hemmant facility equipped with a 600-tonne travel lift and full secure lockup, CMA designs, engineers, constructs, and repairs aluminium commercial and recreational vessels ranging from 5 metres to 50 metres. The company's core capabilities centre on custom aluminium fabrication with welding certified to NSCV AS/NZS1665:2004, DNVGL and Lloyd's Register standards, in-house naval architecture collaboration, and integrated marine engineering covering propulsion, ride control, hydraulics, steering, davits, dive platforms, fuel, and bilge systems.

CMA's customer base is primarily B2B and spans Australian and international tourism operators, ferry operators, and private vessel owners. Named customers include Explore Group (Hamilton Island), Sealink North Queensland, Tangalooma, Inter Island Ferries (Seychelles), and the Bay Island Community healthcare programme. Its portfolio includes award-winning ferries such as Ocean Explorer (2020 Best Large Tourist Vessel) and Maggie Cat (2022 Best Small Fast Ferry) from Baird Maritime, as well as ambulance vessels, landing craft, pilot vessels, and luxury motor yachts.

The company generates revenue through three project-based streams: new-build construction (one-off project fees), refit and repair services, and marine engineering installations. Pricing is quoted per project based on vessel specifications, with no publicly disclosed pricing or recurring software-style revenue. Go-to-market is sales-led and referral-driven, leveraging industry publications, a project portfolio website, and long-term client relationships, rather than digital marketing. CMA is bootstrapped with no external funding, no subsidiaries, and no recorded M&A activity.

Name

Commercial Marine Australia

Legal name

Commercial Marine Australia Pty Ltd

Website

https://cmaustralia.build

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Commercial Marine Australia is a Brisbane-based aluminium boat builder designing, constructing, refitting, and repairing custom commercial and recreational vessels from 5m to 50m for tourism operators, ferry operators, and private owners across Australia and internationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Aluminium Boat Building

NAICS

Ship and Boat Building (3366), Ship Building and Repairing (336611), Ship and Boat Building (33661)

SIC

Ship & Boat Building & Repairing (3730), Special Industry Machinery, Nec (3559)

akta.pro primary industry

Landing Craft & Amphibious Workboats (LCM/LCT-style, Beaching Craft) (IMAJADAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Luxury Yacht Hull & Superstructure Fabrication (Composite/Aluminum/Steel) (IMAJAMAG), Marine Outfitting & Interior Refurbishment (TLAKAKAL), Production Design & Detailed Engineering (3D CAD, Drawings, BOM, Nesting) (IMAJAGAK)

Keywords

• Aluminium boat building
• Commercial vessel construction
• Marine engineering services
• Vessel refit repair
• Custom catamaran design

Headquarters

HQ city

Brisbane

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Vessel Construction (New Builds): Design, engineering, and construction of custom aluminium vessels from 5m to 50m including passenger ferries, tourist dive boats, whale watching vessels, charter vessels, and special purpose boats.
2. Refit and Repair Services: Repowering, refitting, and repairing vessels including scheduled survey works, corrosion repair, hull replacement, accident insurance repairs, and modernisation with latest technologies.
3. Marine Engineering Services: Installation and design of marine systems including ride control, stabilising systems, hydraulics, steering, davits, dive platforms, hot/cold water systems, bilge systems, and fuel systems.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Commercial Marine Australia designs, engineers, and constructs custom aluminium vessels from 5m to 50m, including passenger ferries, tourist dive boats, whale-watching vessels, charter boats, and special purpose craft. The company also delivers marine engineering (propulsion, power, steering, hydraulics, ride control, stabilisers, fuel/water/bilge systems) and re-power, refit, and repair services that extend vessel operational life and meet modern classification requirements. All work is produced at the Brisbane facility backed by a 600-tonne travel lift and certified welding to NSCV, DNVGL, and Lloyds Register standards.

Product overview

Commercial Marine Australia is a Brisbane-based aluminium boat builder offering a portfolio of vessel construction, marine engineering, and refit services. The core offerings include aluminium boat building (vessels from 5m to 50m), marine engineering (propulsion, power systems, hydraulics, ride control), and re-power/refit/repair services. Their vessel portfolio spans passenger ferries (Cat Roses III, Maggie Cat, Gem of the Sounds), tourist/dive vessels (Ocean Explorer, Reef Quest III, Reef Explorer, Reef Cat, Kanyini), emergency vessels (Medicat ambulance vessel), commercial vessels (God's Miracle landing craft, 5.5m Work PUNT, 6.5m Barge, Angela Lihir pilot vessel), luxury vessels (Aleon motor yacht, No Excuses charter fishing catamaran, Calypso dive vessel), and specialty vessels (Inen Tes seabed imagery catamaran, Knightmare). The company operates from a Brisbane factory with 600 tonne travel lift and secure lockup facility.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Aluminium Boat Building

Quantifiable outcome

• Ocean Explorer awarded Best Large Tourist Vessel in 2020 by Baird Maritime
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• One2Three Naval ArchitectscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative design partnership for Ocean Explorer vessel. One2Three Designs is one of Australia's leading global firms of naval architects, noted for ferries, patrol and innovative work boats. They teamed with CMA to create a memorable catamaran vessel for the luxury tour market.
• Wildcat MarinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTeamed with CMA and One2Three Naval Architects for Ocean Explorer construction. Wildcat Marine is a reputable Queensland aluminium shipyard. Also worked with CMA on Reef Explorer refit for Explore Group.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Austal: ASX-listed Australian aluminium shipbuilder and global defence prime producing high-speed catamarans, ferries and naval vessels. Overlaps with CMA's catamaran ferry niche but at vastly greater scale, including US operations.
• Incat Tasmania: Tasmanian builder of large aluminium catamarans and fast ferries. Direct product overlap with CMA's ferry work (Cat Roses III, Maggie Cat) but typically serves much larger vessel sizes and government/defence export contracts.
• Damen Shipyards: Dutch global shipbuilder with a broad workboat and fast ferry portfolio including aluminium catamarans. Represents the international competitive set that CMA increasingly encounters when bidding ferry tenders in Africa and the Pacific.

Direct peers

• Echo Yachts: Western Australian composite and aluminium builder of superyachts and commercial vessels. Competes with CMA's luxury segment (Aleon, No Excuses) and in custom high-end refit work.
• Richardson Devine Marine: Brisbane-based aluminium boat builder serving tourism, commercial and government clients in similar vessel classes to CMA. Closest geographic and product peer in the Brisbane market.
• Wildcat Marine: Queensland-based aluminium shipyard partnered with CMA on Ocean Explorer and Reef Explorer. Operates in the same size band, building and refitting aluminium commercial vessels for tourism and ferry operators - the most directly comparable peer.
• Fitzroy Yachts: New Zealand builder of composite and light-alloy superyachts. Overlaps with CMA's luxury yacht and refit work in the Australia/New Zealand/Pacific superyacht corridor.

Others

• Incat Crowther: Designer of Maggie Cat and Reef Cat vessels built by CMA. A specialist design house whose portfolio channels hull designs to yards like CMA - relevant ecosystem participant.
• One2Three Naval Architects: Australian naval architecture firm that co-designed Ocean Explorer with CMA. Not a builder, but an adjacent ecosystem participant - design partners that often shape which yards win ferry tenders.

Regional players

• NQEA (Norship Marine): Queensland/Northern Territory shipbuilder and marine services provider. Overlaps with CMA in refit, repair and small commercial vessel work, primarily serving North Australian and Pacific operators.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/commercial-marine-australia

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Commercial Marine Australia