Marine Services & Asset Management Solutions | AST Oceanics
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About Us

The AST Group is an international provider of satellite communications solutions for marine, aviation and terrestrial environments with epresentation on all continents. The Group endeavours to maintain a strong presence in all of its key markets by its commitment to business growth, investment in its people and involvement in the industry and community it supports.

AST Oceanics (formerly Gardline Australia Pty Ltd) is based in South Perth, Western Australia, and is the marine asset management arm of the Group. The company plays a key role in the diversification strategy of the Group’s business development in Australia and the Asia Pacific region. Clients include:

  • Australian Border Force
  • Australian Maritime Services
  • Australian Maritime Safety Authority
  • Australian Antarctic Division
  • Department of Home Affairs

Our team comprises both sea and shore staff who are qualified, experienced and dedicated professionals who collectively possess a highly refined sense of “mission achievement” that sets us apart from most other companies that offer similar services.

We emphasise the need to sustain and develop a culture where we believe it is possible to work safely without injury, illness or polluting the environment, regardless of where we operate or the task that we undertake.

Marine Services & Asset Management Solutions | AST Oceanics
Marine Services & Asset Management Solutions | AST Oceanics

Note: To avoid the possibility of confusion the
remainder of our website refers to AST Oceanics and not Gardline Australia, including in historical reference, unless directly relevant.

Our History

AST Oceanics began life as Gardline Australia Pty Ltd. The company was a wholly owned subsidiary of Gardline Shipping Ltd, a privately owned British business that owned blue water survey vessels, operating them around the globe. Gardline Australia was established in 2006 to crew and operate three Gardline owned ships, TRITON, ASHMORE GUARDIAN and OCEANEER, in support of the Australian Border Force’s Northern waters border security maritime patrol regime. These three vessel contracts spanned the period 2006 – 2015 and were supplemented in that period by additional contracts with the ABF to design, build and then technically maintain a new patrol vessel, the THAIYAK which entered the ABF fleet in 2014.

In 2014, Gardline Australia was awarded a contract by Australian Maritime Systems Pty Ltd in Brisbane, to provide and operate an Emergency Towing Vessel (ETV) for them on behalf of the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. From mid-2014, the Cairns based vessel, CORAL KNIGHT, performed AMSA’s first strike emergency response capability in the event a vessel went aground or collided with another vessel within the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) and supported ongoing maintenance of aids to navigation in the region. The contract also required the provision a new design ETV into the contract by mid-2016 to replace the CORAL KNIGHT which was chartered. Unfortunately the ship yard was unable to deliver within the contracted build time and Gardline Australia withdrew from the contract in March 2017.

Other work has included marine engineering of various types, RHIB maintenance and the provision and management of a vessel to track and monitor blue whales along the Antarctic ice margin.

From late 2014, offshore survey activities experienced a significant downturn as oil companies cut their exploration programmes. This situation led to business consolidation in the offshore industry across the globe. In mid-August 2017 the Gardline Group was acquired by the Dutch dredging giant Royal Boskalis Westminster NV. The company had been privately owned by the Darling family in the UK since its inception in 1969. At the same time, Gardline Australia was acquired by Applied Satellite Technology (AST). AST is owned by the former Chairman of the Gardline Group, Mr Gregory Darling. In mid-December 2017, Gardline Australia changed its name to AST Oceanics Pty Ltd to reflect its new ownership. AST Oceanics has retained the Gardline Australia business registration details and remains in the business of marine asset management, specialising in the management of special purpose ships and offshore facilities.

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