Boost to Australian Shipbuilders

A fleet of Royal Australian Navy patrol boats will be built in Western Australia in a project expected to generate $630 million and create up to 450 full-time jobs. The Australian Department of Defence announced recently that a bid by Newcastle-based shipbuilder ADI had been eliminated from the tender process. That leaves Henderson-based shipbuilders Austal and Tenix in the running to build and maintain up to 15 Armidale-class boats, which will replace the navy's ageing fleet of Fremantle-class boats.

The department said in a statement that ADI was eliminated because it was "not sufficiently competitive in value for money terms". Spokesmen for Austal and Tenix each claimed their respective companies were well placed to win the contract, which is expected to be announced in less than two months. Both companies are located in the shipbuilding precinct of the burgeoning Australian Marine Complex in Cockburn Sound. Also, a defence industry giant Raytheon has already relocated its naval systems division to the complex from Sydney in a move which will see WA get a significant slice of naval projects.