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Celebrating 40 years on the water
10th September 2026
Celebrating 40 years on the water
40 years in the marine industry is a long time, it represents thousands of nautical miles, countless tides and constantly changing regulatory landscape. But for Fodico Marine Group founder Dennis Toy, the core philosophy behind more than four decades on the water remains simple; prepare meticulously, don’t take short cuts, be reliable, and always strive to improve. The Early Days: How Fodico Marine Group was built on problem solving, partnerships and good people Fodico’s first opportunity in Gladstone arrived in the mid 1980s when Dennis partnered with a fellow operator Max Allen to buy the Booby Bird, a 24m vessel sourced from Adelaide and refitted for dive and fishing charters to meet the demand of 1980s charter boom. "At the height of it, there were probably a dozen charter boats operating out of Gladstone," says Dennis. "But we were taking on broader work almost immediately" One of the Booby Bird’s first notable charters was a Crown-of-Thorns research expedition with the Great Barrier Reef Marine Parks Authority and Navy divers out of Townsville. “Right from the start, the commercial thread was there” Those early years also established something that would remain important to Fodico; the strong sense of camaraderie and respect between marine operators in Gladstone and beyond. “It is something that I’m proud to be part of” That spirit of cooperation and willingness to go the extra mile has continued to shape Fodico’s approach to business, with strong industry relationships and long-term partnerships playing an important role in tackling complex marine challenges. Turning Points: Pacific Conquest and solving marine problems If there was a single vessel that shifted Fodico’s trajectory toward high-spec commercial marine operations, it was the Pacific Conquest, purchased around 1990. When the Commonweath of Australia retired the Cape Grafton, a government vessel servicing Coral Sea lighthouses and weather stations, Fodico stepped in with a proposition: they could deliver the same critical service for Bureau of Meteorology. "There was only one other vessel really like it on the East Coast available for charter at the time," says Dennis. "The Pacific Conquest opened a whole lot of doors for us with commercial charter work." That move launched a decade of high-profile, complex marine work. Fitted with an A-frame and LARC (Lighter Amphibious Resupply Cargo) craft, the Pacific Conquest. became a mainstay for the Bureau of Meteorology. She delivered twice-yearly runs to service Coral Sea weather stations and completed crew change overs at the remote Willis Island outpost, located about 450kms from Cairns. The vessel went on to support Royal Australian Navy mine-hunter exercises, and five historic HMS Pandora wreck archaeological expeditions for the Queensland Museum. All remote, complex and high-risk work that left no room for under-preparation.
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Cape Gloucester Named Best Landing Craft
14th July 2026
Cape Gloucester Named Best Landing Craft
Fodico Marine Group is pleased to announce that the Cape Gloucester has been awarded Best Landing Craft in the annual Baird Maritime / Work Boat World Awards. This international recognition highlights a disciplined approach to vessel design, engineering integrity, and local Australian craftsmanship. In their official award review, the editors at Baird Maritime highlighted the vessel's exceptional versatility, thanks to bow and stern ramps that allow loading and unloading of vehicles, machinery and freight without needing to turn the vessel, and an impressively shallow draft of just 1.7m What truly sets the vessel apart and what caught the attention of the global panel, is how thoughtfully traditional design elements have been adapted for modern, demanding regional operations. "She is state-of-the-art when it comes to shallow-draught landing craft," Shaun Phelps, Director at Periscope Naval Architects, told Baird Maritime. "The owners decades of experience operating these vessels enabled Periscope to ensure that all the important aspects of the vessel operations are optimised. The geometry of the bow door and the forward lines create a beach landing capability, “that is as good as it can be”. Fodico Marine Groups Managing Director, Leon Toy said the Cape Gloucester stands out because she strikes that rare balance between being unique and practical. "Her shallow draught and propeller arrangement are not theoretical solutions; they are the evolution of vessels that have been successfully built, operated, and improved in-house for over 30 years. That lineage shows in the way she handles, the low maintenance demands, and the operational flexibility she offers in tidal or constrained environments." Toy also pointed out the vessel's under-house height clearance of 4.6 metres paired with a full-deck point-loading capacity of 20 tonnes per square metre. In his view, that combination genuinely sets the vessel ahead of conventional ferries, which usually restrict heavy vehicles to dedicated lanes.
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Cape Gloucester departs for first charter
20th July 2024
Cape Gloucester departs for first charter
Check out the newest vessel in our fleet, she turns heads everywhere! and we are very proud of the design, quality and the end result. After the fitment of a stern loading door and some further fine tuning of the fit out, The Cape Gloucester has departed her home port of Gladstone en-route to her first charter.
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Cape Gloucester ready for Charter
21st May 2024
Cape Gloucester ready for Charter
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Cape Gloucester Nearing Completion
17th February 2024
Cape Gloucester Nearing Completion
Fodico Marine Group are in the final stages with the fit-out of our much-anticipated LCT “Cape Gloucester” with the vessel commissioning well underway and final touches being applied, we are preparing for our departure from Brisbane to our home Port of Gladstone in the next few weeks.
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Cape Gloucester Hits The Water
10th August 2023
Cape Gloucester Hits The Water
Our new build vessel the Cape Gloucester has finally hit the water! CG will depart the Harwood Slipway for Brisbane where the fit out and commissioning stage of the build will commence.
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Progress at Harwood- Cape Gloucester
28th October 2022
Progress at Harwood- Cape Gloucester
Big milestone today at Harwood with the accommodation and wheelhouse decks being lifted into place on our new 45m LCT.
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Spuds Fitted to Targetline Barge
28th September 2022
Spuds Fitted to Targetline Barge
Nice Legs! FMG’s Construction Support Platform the ‘Targetline 1201’ is departing Gladstone Harbour for various piling works in the Central Queensland region. With multiple projects to execute in the coming months we have manufactured and installed BV approved spud keepers and spud legs to the barge to further our capabilities and on-site efficiency in this sector. In-house conceptual design, complete in-house fabrication and installation of the keepers and spuds to the barge, this has been a great project to showcase our workshops’ capabilities.
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Sounds Pacific joins the FMG fleet
20th April 2022
Sounds Pacific joins the FMG fleet
Vessel Sounds Pacific joins the FMG fleet. The Sounds Pacific is an all Australian designed and built 21m aluminium mono hull vessel powered by twin Yanmar main engines backed up by a bow thruster and twin Yanmar gensets. The vessel is fitted with a 750mm x 600mm Moon Pool for the deployment of Hydrographic survey equipment incorporating a very versatile plug type mounting system that supports a wide variety of transducers. Sounds Pacific is pre-wired for the more common survey suites in the market which means the vessel can be mobilised in a matter of hours, a Dimensional Control Report is on hand for the various points of interest onboard. Large open deck spaces and a water level cockpit area also make for an excellent marine research platform.
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2021 October - New Build Update
12th October 2021
2021 October - New Build Update
The construction of the new build is progressing well. Harwood Marine are doing a great job! Here are a few photos of what has been achieved.
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South Trees Project
11th October 2021
South Trees Project
Fodico Marine Group has mobilised Shackleton, Crew Cat, beetle barge, Support Barge, Spudded Crane Barge and our 60 ton Crawler Crane to the Waste line replacement project at south trees inlet for QAL.
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Tow to Lady Musgrave Island
14th September 2021
Tow to Lady Musgrave Island
Lady Musgrave HQ was towed to Lady Musgrave Island by the Alkira with 5 crew onboard. At a steady pace of 4 and a half knots they arrived Sunday 12/9/21. It was towed into the lagoon and handed over to Lady Musgrave Experience. We wish Brett and his Lady Musgrave Experience Staff the best, in their future endeavours, aboard the ECO friendly accommodation/reef experience.
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Fodico Marine Groups New 45m LCT Vessel
2nd September 2021
Fodico Marine Groups New 45m LCT Vessel
Fodico Marine Groups new 45m LCT vessel, designed by Periscope Naval Architects is starting to take shape. This all Australian owned, designed and built vessel will be a great asset to our fleet of Landing Crafts.
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Timber Dolphin Removal-Port of Bundaberg
1st July 2021
Timber Dolphin Removal-Port of Bundaberg
Fodico Marine Group have just successfully completed the removal of two timber dolphin wharf structures, also including the old harbor Tug berth in the Port of Bundaberg. This is the third project of this type that we have undertaken in the last couple of years which involved the extraction of timber & steel piles and top side main deck structures. The project for Gladstone Ports Corporation was completed in time and under budget. Fodico Marine Group would like to thank the client “GPC” and the local businesses in the Port of Bundaberg for their support, and assisting in achieving the 95% recycling of the 217ton of extracted material from the project.
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New Jetty Removal Project
11th May 2021
New Jetty Removal Project
FMG has been awarded another jetty removal project on the back of our successful recent works at Linderman Island and South Molle Island. FMG was awarded the removal and disposal of two timber berthing dolphins and the old steel tug base at the Port of Bundaberg. FMG has developed efficient and safe removal methods for these ageing structures as their service life comes to an end.
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Successful Wreck Recovery in Hervey Bay
2nd May 2021
Successful Wreck Recovery in Hervey Bay
Another successful wreck recovery conducted by FMG this time in the pristine waters of Hervey Bay, an interesting note is that Fodico used to run day trips to the Arch Cliffs here on Fraser Island over 40 years ago. Nice to be back and helping the environment stay as it should, uninhibited and pollution free.
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Completed Wreck Recovery in the Mary River
2nd April 2021
Completed Wreck Recovery in the Mary River
FMG has completed another wreck recovery in the Mary River this week. The ferro cement ketch was recovered from the seabed and delivered for disposal. Another great effort from our multi skilled and multi-talented crew members.
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Fodico Marine Group Awarded Survey Vessel Support Contract
1st April 2021
Fodico Marine Group Awarded Survey Vessel Support Contract
Fodico Marine Group has been awarded a survey vessel support contract with local QLD Hydrographic Survey company NaMaSys Pty Ltd. The vessel has today 15/04/2021, departed Gladstone in support of the 2021 dredging and Bed Leveling campaign in Port of Weipa FNQ.
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