Solar Technology Australia has won an AUD$672,000 contract from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority to help maintain aids to navigation.
AMSA Executive Director of Response Mark Morrow commented that ““Solar Technology Australia is an experienced provider of aids to navigation products and services. We look forward to the company starting work on our network shortly.”
Solar Tech will be covering New South Wales which includes iconic heritage listed lighthouses such as Smoky Cape, Sugarloaf Point and Nobbys Head.
Parramatta, Sydney-based Solar Technology Australia began covering the specialist solar and aids to navigation market from 1993 and specialises in custom-designed systems. The company is Management Systems certified to ISO9001:2015 Quality Management Systems, ISO45001:2018 OH&S Management Systems and ISO14001:2015 Environment Management Systems.
The company also stocks its own range of buoys and markers, and is also an official distributor for other manufacturers. The company offers ongoing maintenance of aids to navigation.
AMSA is the custodian of about 480 aids to navigation which includes marine buoys, automatic identification systems for ships, met-ocean sensors, and even a range of historic lighthouses.
The new contract is the first of nine aids to navigation contracts that AMSA will issue. As of 1 July 2024, AMSA will transition from a single national maintenance provider on the network, to multiple providers for 8 distinct regions, underpinned by a technical support and logistics provider.
The move from a single services provider to a multi-services provider has been controversial and has been subject to discussions in the Federal Parliament.