NQEA Australia
Encyclopedia
NQEA Australia, formerly North Queensland Engineers and Agents, is an engineering and shipbuilding company based in Cairns, Queensland
, Australia. The company was created in 1948 as an engineering supply company, then expanded in 1966 into shipbuilding.
NQEA has built several ships for the Royal Australian Navy
(including the Fremantle class patrol boats
and Leeuwin class survey ships
), and was initially contracted to build hull blocks for the Hobart class air warfare destroyer project. However, the Hobart contract was lost to BAE Systems Australia
in January 2009, after NQEA indicated that it was having trouble meeting its financial obligations for the project.
Cairns, Queensland
Cairns is a regional city in Far North Queensland, Australia, founded 1876. The city was named after William Wellington Cairns, then-current Governor of Queensland. It was formed to serve miners heading for the Hodgkinson River goldfield, but experienced a decline when an easier route was...
, Australia. The company was created in 1948 as an engineering supply company, then expanded in 1966 into shipbuilding.
NQEA has built several ships for the Royal Australian Navy
Royal Australian Navy
The Royal Australian Navy is the naval branch of the Australian Defence Force. Following the Federation of Australia in 1901, the ships and resources of the separate colonial navies were integrated into a national force: the Commonwealth Naval Forces...
(including the Fremantle class patrol boats
Fremantle class patrol boat
The Fremantle-class patrol boats were coastal patrol vessels operated by the Royal Australian Navy from 1979 to 2007. Designed by British shipbuilder Brooke Marine and constructed in Australia by North Queensland Engineers and Agents, the Fremantle class were larger, more powerful, and more...
and Leeuwin class survey ships
Leeuwin class survey vessel
The Leeuwin class is a class of two hydrographic survey vessels in the Royal Australian Navy, HMAS Leeuwin and HMAS Melville. Both ships were built by NQEA in Cairns, Queensland, and entered service in 2000....
), and was initially contracted to build hull blocks for the Hobart class air warfare destroyer project. However, the Hobart contract was lost to BAE Systems Australia
BAE Systems Australia
BAE Systems Australia, a subsidiary of BAE Systems plc, is the largest defence contractor in Australia. It was formed by the merger of British Aerospace Australia and GEC-Marconi Systems and expanded by the acquisitions of Armor Holdings in 2007 and Tenix Defence in June 2008.-History:BAE Systems'...
in January 2009, after NQEA indicated that it was having trouble meeting its financial obligations for the project.