Defence Maritime Services
Encyclopedia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n company providing port services to the Australian Defence Force
Australian Defence Force
The Australian Defence Force is the military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy , Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Force and a number of 'tri-service' units...
and Australian Customs Service National Marine Unit
Australian Customs Service National Marine Unit
The Customs Marine Unit , formerly the Australian Customs Service National Marine Unit, is a division of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service...
. DMS was founded in 1997 and currently operates 8 ocean going vessels and over 100 harbour craft and has around 350 staff. The services DMS is contracted to provide to 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...
(RAN) include operating tug boats and lighters
Lighter (barge)
A lighter is a type of flat-bottomed barge used to transfer goods and passengers to and from moored ships. Lighters were traditionally unpowered and were moved and steered using long oars called "sweeps," with their motive power provided by water currents...
at RAN bases, training members of the RAN, and maintaining the RAN warships.