Support The Patrol Boats

Newcastle Herald

Friday March 28, 2003

OTHER events the Iraq war, the NSW election have recently overshadowed an imminent Federal Government decision that will have a big impact on employment and income in the Hunter Region.

If Newcastle finalist ADI Ltd wins a contract for 12 patrol boats for the Royal Australian Navy, shipbuilding will continue to be a significant industry in the city. If, however, the contract goes to one of the other two finalists, both based in Western Australia, an industry in which the region has excelled since the early years of white settlement could be consigned to history.

The situation would be very different to the loss of the BHP steelworks. BHP did not invest enough in upgrading an old works, so it eventually became uncompetitive. ADI, however, built its Carrington shipyard from scratch only a decade ago to build a fleet of six minehunters for the navy. Its $300million investment has given the city a state-of-the-art shipyard.

ADI's Newcastle operation is based on building vessels with hulls made from glass-fibre-reinforced composite materials, rather than the traditional steel or aluminium. The $1billion minehunter fleet had composite hulls and the company has tendered to build the patrol boats using the same materials and based on a proven Danish design.

ADI believes that composites are more appropriate for today's ships and a study last year by a Federal Government agency, the Defence Science and Technology Organisation in Melbourne, offered considerable support for that view.

Longer-life ships

The agency did a technical analysis of the materials steel, aluminium and composites proposed for the patrol boats' hulls by the three contract finalists. While the agency was careful not to make recommendations, it listed 13 generic advantages for composites, compared to nine for steel and seven for aluminium.

The analysis overwhelmingly supported ADI's claims that composite hulls would contribute to lighter-weight ships, low maintenance costs due to the non-corrosive materials, a longer life than metal vessels and a lower radar signature. ADI also makes the point that its ships would have greater fuel efficiency.

Despite the proven nature of the technology, navy traditionalists are said to be supporting steel-hulled, aluminium structure vessels. Advantages such as a longer ship life and lower operating costs seem to count for little.

This contract would be worth $450million to ADI, with flow-on work injecting a further $250million into the Hunter economy. Up to 1800 direct and flow-on jobs would be created for the five-year period of the contract.

This, then, is a contract the Hunter Region can ill-afford to lose. The Hunter business community has been behind it since ADI announced it was tendering. Now the whole community needs to raise its voice in support of the bid. Likewise, Premier Bob Carr needs to up the State's support for the tender if he wants to ensure that the Hunter does not lose a valuable industry and jobs.