Thyssen Krupp says it wants to buy Adelaide’s ASC as part of submarine construction project

GERMANY’S biggest ship builder wants to buy government-owned submarine firm ASC to expand the facility as part of its plan to build the navy’s future fleet.

GERMANY’S biggest ship builder would buy government-owned submarine firm ASC and massively expand the facility as part of its plan to build the navy’s future submarines and surface warships in Australia.

This would finally realise the 15-year-old plan of the former Howard Government to turn Port Adelaide into a national shipbuilding centre of excellence.

German engineering ... An illustration of a German Submarine Type 216, one of the contenders for Australia’s future submarine project. Source: Supplied

Building a case

During a tour this week of its shipyard in Kiel, where nine submarines are in various stages of construction or upgrading, executives from Thyssen Krupp Marine Systems (TKMS) said a team would travel to Australia next month to examine options for building ships in Adelaide and at other yards.

TKMS is one of three bidders engaged in a competitive evaluation process for the $20 billion job to supply a replacement for the navy’s Collins Class bats which are due to retire from 2026.

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It will also bid for the navy’s future frigate and Pacific Patrol Boats in a move that could create thousands of jobs and cement naval shipbuilding in Australia for decades.

Japan also has confirmed its intention to compete with Germany and France for the controversial submarine project.

Chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga told Japanese media on Monday that Japan would join the competitive evaluation process.

Ownership issue

Mr Konker said the ASC ownership issue has to be tackled as part of the “huge” project.

“It is an issue of price and risk. We have top priority on this.

“We would consider to buy ASC,” Mr Konker said.

The executives said it was “definitely possible” to expand ASC’s Port Adelaide facility to do both jobs.

The German firm also raised the possibility of exporting Australian built Type 216 boats to other countries such as Canada.

It has built 160 submarines for 20 navies since 1960.

Any Australian build would involve yards and firms from around the nation contributing elements to the final product that would be assembled in Adelaide.

It would create and preserve thousands of manufacturing jobs.

Tailor-made ... The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) Collins Class submarines were built to suit our unique strategic and geographic requirements. Source: Defence

Expansion plans

Chairman of TKMS Australia Dr John White, who managed Australia’s most successful shipbuilding project with the German designed Anzac Frigates, said the firm would be keen to buy and expand ASC if it was for sale.

“If not we will establish our own facilities at Techport [Port Adelaide] and work with other facilities to build both Sea 1000 [subs] and Sea 5000 [future frigate],” Dr White said.

The submarine project is Australia’s biggest ever defence contract and will deliver between eight and 12 submarines for up to $20 billion.

TKMS Australia chief executive and former submarine commander Philip Stanford said finding enough skilled workers would not be a problem.

“We don’t see human resources as an issue. The workforce will appear and there are a lot of technical people losing their jobs,” he said.

Mr Stanford said that 85 per cent of the systems proposed for the 4000-tonne German Type 216 boat were already operating at sea on the company’s Type 214 submarines.

“It is a proven approach and a proven system.”

Lobbying versus capabilities

TKMS says it is conducting an open and transparent campaign to win the work compared to a secretive proposal from the Japanese government that refuses to release any details of its submarine and a publicity shy French bid to convert a nuclear submarine from government owned builder DCNS.

Senior executive and board member of TKMS Torsten Konker described Japan’s bid — the one Pirme Minister Tony Abbott has already declared his favourite — as a “white elephant”.

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He said its performance could not be accurately judged due to the secrecy surrounding it.

TKMS says it is also developing new technologies such as powerful lightweight lithium ion batteries and air independent propulsion systems that would enable its submarines to remain submerged without fresh air for several weeks.

This is one of the Japanese submarine’s key selling points.

* Ian McPhedran travelled to Germany as a guest of TKMS.

Source: NewsCorp