Australia Approves First Stage of Amphib Ships Project

Australian Department of Defence, The Federal Government has approved the first stage of the $2 billion Amphibious Ships project which will provide Navy with a world class capability to deploy land forces on operations.  
 
Defence Minister Robert Hill said the project will provide Navy with two new amphibious ships to be used on operations such as combat operations, regional disaster relief, humanitarian aid, peacekeeping and peace monitoring, and assistance to policing or military operations.  
 
Australian shipbuilders will be invited to tender for either or both of two designs:  
 
— the Spanish Navantia ship at approximately 27,000 tonne;  
— the French Armaris Mistral ship with additional troop carrying capability at approximately 22,000 tonne.  
 
“Each ship will preferably have the ability to transport up to 1000 personnel, have six helicopter landing spots and provision for a mix of troop lift and armed reconnaissance helicopters. It will also be able to transport up to 150 vehicles including the new M1A1 Abrams tanks and armored vehicles,” Senator Hill said.  dt
 
“Each ship will also be equipped with medical facilities, including two operating theatres and a hospital ward.”  
 
A Request for Tender will be released to the Australian shipbuilding industry in the second quarter of 2006.  
 
Senator Hill said the ship builder would be determined once a thorough financial and technical comparison was made between Australian bids and overseas build options.  
 
“The Government's preference is to see the ships built in Australia, however Australian industry will need to demonstrate it can deliver the project at a competitive price,” Senator Hill said.  
 
The Government has given first pass approval to the project and committed $29.8 million towards the Design Development Phase of the project.  
 
This will enable Navantia and Armaris to now work on defining the requirements for the ships incorporating necessary Australian environmental, safety and technical requirements.  
 
The tender documentation will allow bidders to:  
 
— Form teaming arrangements;  
— Submit fixed price bids;  
— Provide innovative solutions to improve price and schedule, and;  
— Bid through life support solutions.  
 
“A lot of work has been done on assessing the two ships and also the capability of ship builders. Both ships are very capable and will be a quantum leap over our current capability,” Senator Hill said.  
 
“The Spanish ship would have a greater carrying capacity but construction of the first Spanish ship has only just started. In comparison, the French ship has slightly less carrying capacity but has been constructed and is undertaking its final tests with the French Navy.”  
 
For an Australian build, the contract would be awarded in early 2007 with the in-service date for the first ship being 2012.