HMAS Success. (Photo: Australia DoD)08 October 2010 -- Singapore-based shipyard ST Marine has been selected by Defence to convert the Royal Australian Navy tanker HMAS Success to a double hulled vessel.
Double hulling will give Success two complete layers of watertight hull surface, creating greater safety.
The conversion will take place in Singapore where the ship has a scheduled visit while on deployment in Asia.
International Maritime Organisation standards require fuel tankers to be double hulled as a method of preventing or reducing spills following the sinking of the MV Erika off the coast of France in 1999, resulting in one of the world's greatest environmental disasters.
Three elements contributed to ST Marine's winning tender: the company came in under budget; work of this type will never again be carried out in Australia; and no Australian company had ever undertaken this type of work.
The money saved on this project will be re-directed towards the priority repair and maintenance work required on HMAS Kanimbla and HMAS Manoora, for which a precautionary Operational Pause was recently initiated by the Chief of Navy. This work will occur concurrently at Garden Island, Sydney.
The on-going repair and maintenance of Navy ships happens in Australia and will stay in Australia. This includes the regular and on-going repair and maintenance of HMAS Success.
This year Defence will spend approximately $79 million on ship repair and maintenance in the Sydney region. In 2011 Defence has budgeted to spend $81 million on ship repair and maintenance in the Sydney region.
Next year Defence will also issue tenders for five-year contracts for the repair and maintenance of Navy ships at Garden Island. This work will all occur in Australia and is worth about half a billion dollars over the five years.
HMAS Success was launched in Sydney in 1984 and is the largest ship built in Australia for the Royal Australian Navy and also the largest ever built in the port of Sydney.
Australia DoD
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