Subject: Patrol Boat tender shortlist announced
From: [email-masked]
To: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 28 Jun 2002 15:37:45 +1000

Minister for Defence Media Mail List
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MEDIA RELEASE
MINISTER FOR DEFENCE
MIN 316/02
28 June 2002

Patrol Boat tender shortlist announced

Three companies have been shortlisted to tender for the supply of patrol boats for the Royal Australian Navy, after they were endorsed by Defence Minister Robert Hill.  

The shortlisted tenderers are ADI, Defence Maritime Services partnering with Austal, and Tenix.  

ADI would construct the boats in Newcastle, DMS and Tenix in Perth - providing significant economic and employment opportunities in these areas.  

"Competition for the final shortlist to go on to stage two of the contract process was intense - highlighting the fact that Australia has a competitive small vessel shipbuilding industry," Senator Hill said. 
 
"Nine companies provided tenders, seven of which qualified to produce the vessels. 

"The shortlisted tenderers were selected through a robust process based on merit in accordance with the criteria laid down in the request for tender and the information offered in company responses. 
 
"The final three companies selected to go to the next stage of the tender process were competitive and proposed to meet the Australian industry involvement targets for construction (65 per cent) and in-service support (90 per cent). 
 
"Both Cairns and Darwin, where the new boats are expected to be operated from, should also benefit from the through life logistics support activities that will take place there." 

Senator Hill said other regions were also likely to benefit as individual systems and equipment fitted to the boats were likely to be sourced and supported from companies based throughout  Australia. 
 
After evaluating two possible procurement options, the Government has decided to directly purchase the boats.  The use of private financing to deliver the boats and associated through-life support was also considered.  

However, advice provided to the Government indicated that there was uncertainty about whether the requisite capability could be provided on a value for money basis while also ensuring that the transaction would be classified as an operating lease for accounting purposes.

The shortlisted companies will be invited to provide detailed tender proposals by the end of October.  Defence expects to be in a position to recommend to Government a preferred tenderer by late this year, with a view to signing the in the new year. 

This would ensure the replacement patrol boats would be ready for service in the second half of 2004, consistent with the Government's 2000 Defence White Paper commitments.  
"The current fleet of 15 Fremantle Class Patrol Boats have served the Navy and Australia well but they are aging and costly to maintain," Senator Hill said.  

"These new vessels will provide the RAN men and women who operate them with a more capable, modern and reliable vessel in which to help them better protect Australia's coastline.  They will also provide the Navy's patrol boat capability for the next 20 years."  

Media Contacts: 
Minister's office        Catherine Fitzpatrick              02 6277 7800 or 0405 351 245
Department		Anna Marsden	               02 6265  3834 or  0410 626 702 

FACT SHEET

Patrol Boats for Australia's border security

Australia's forces for maritime operations give us the ability to deny an opponent the use of our maritime approaches and allow us the freedom to operate at sea ourselves.  This is critical to the defence of Australia, the protection of our borders and the security of our immediate neighbourhood.  

Our 15 Fremantle class patrol boats are close to the end of their service life.  These boats make a critical contribution to coastal surveillance and enforcement.  They are the primary patrol and response element of the integrated National Civil Surveillance program.  

The cost of the purchase of the replacement patrol boats is expected to be around $375 million under the SEA 1444 project. 

The new boats will provide 3000 operational days per year, of which 1,800 days per year will be directed towards the Coastwatch operations, plus a surge capacity of 600 additional days per year to deal with short notice contingencies. On average Fremantles have been achieving 2,700 operational days per year.

The new boats will have a range of 3,000 nautical miles, which will provide a 25% increase over the Fremantles.  They will also have a capability to conduct two concurrent boarding operations at extended ranges from the patrol boat, with two sea boats compared to a single boarding capability on Fremantles.
  
The new patrol boats will be able to operate in a greater range of sea conditions, further improving their use at sea.  They will have a capacity to carry up to 20 extra people in austere accommodation, whereas the Fremantles have no dedicated additional accommodation.

The state of the art stabilised gun gives improved control and accuracy in rougher weather, to support a full range of surveillance and interdiction roles.
The new patrol boat fleet will be capable of providing greater level of surveillance capability by spending up to a third more days at sea.

Tender shortlist
Defence Minister Robert Hill has endorsed three companies for the shortlist to tender for the supply of patrol boats for the Royal Australian Navy.
  
The criteria used for assessing the suitability and ranking of bids for inclusion in the shortlist were: operational, technical, integrated support, project management, quality system, schedule , business, financial and security. 
  
The shortlisted tenderers are ADI, Defence Maritime Services partnering with Austal, and Tenix.  ADI would construct the boats in Newcastle, DMS and Tenix in Perth - providing significant economic and employment opportunities in these areas.
  
The ADI proposal
ADI offers a patrol boat based on the Danish designed Stanflex 300.  The ship would be built using a glass reinforced plastic foam core sandwich construction, similar technology to the construction of the Minehunter Coastal. 
 
The DMS proposal
DMS is offering a stretched version of the Austal designed Bay Class Patrol Boat that is currently in service with Australian Customs.

The Tenix proposal
Tenix has offered a variant of the search and rescue patrol boat that they have designed, constructed and delivered to the Philippine Coast Guard.

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