Philip Smart | Adelaide
ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems and UGL Engineering have teamed with Incat Tasmania, Haywards Shipyards and others within the Tasmania Maritime Network to bid for the Pacific Patrol Boats program. The team submitted its bid last week.
TKMS Australia has driven the overall acquisition program, fully integrated with UGL Engineering in its through life support role. Each has a strong record in naval design, acquisition and support programs over many years and a track record of successful cooperation.
Dieter Rottsieper, Deputy CEO of TKMS Australia’s parent company ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, said in Hobart, “We are committed to Australia and to our Australian business. We’ll bring all of our experience, our latest technology and our support to Australian and regional naval and maritime programs.”
Incat Tasmania is well known from its nearly 50 years of innovation and quality highlighted by its range of Wave Piercing Catamarans. Incat is now also building smaller ferries of between 30 and 40 metres, for local and export markets. Haywards has a long tradition of steel boatbuilding in Margate and a steel fabrication base in Launceston. Launceston also features as the Patrol Boats’ training base at the Australian Maritime College, at AMC Search, keeping the boats and crew in Tasmania until they sail away to their Pacific Island Countries.
Rob Dunbar, the Head of Operations for TKMS in Australia: “We have chosen Incat and Haywards as our boat builders through their longstanding success in the competitive international commercial market, and in their total commitment to integrate with our design and support team for the best whole of life solution for the Pacific Island Countries” Our emphasis on the maritime heritage that is Tasmania, combined with our first class technical and support solution, provides a compelling case for our bid.”
Craig Clifford, Managing Director of Incat: “We are really excited by the longer term prospects for our team. Whilst naval shipbuilding in Australia has developed a dependency on Federal Government policy, the Tasmanian Patrol Boat solution is quite different. This Project will simply add to the order books of established and successful businesses in a sustainable way that is both great for regional employment and in building for longer term success”, says “This project is about extending the international success of our Tasmanian manufacturing industry”.