West Australian company Altrad Services has been contracted to provide blast and paint services for the Hunter class program.
ASC Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of BAE Systems Australia, signed the contract with Altrad Services after a competitive tender process.
Altrad Services will prepare the steel supplied by BlueScope Steel AIS by blasting it and painting it with a primer, prior to being cut and fabricated into blocks.
The completed blocks will then pass through the new Block paint facility, ensuring the blocks are in a condition to paint and be ready to be transformed into prototype blocks.
During prototyping, the processes, systems, tools, facilities and workforce competencies will be established, tested and refined before construction commences on the first Hunter class frigate in 2022.
“This prototyping work is essential to ensure that workers are trained in the systems and processes prior to the beginning of the construction of Navy’s nine Hunter class anti-submarine warfare frigates in 2022,” Minister for Defence Linda Reynolds said.