| Project | Explanation |
| Background | In June 2001 Government required Defence to analyse private finance and direct purchase options and to recommend a preferred procurement strategy. Defence requested tenders for private finance and/or direct purchase. After Government approval of the preferred acquisition strategy, Stage 1 short-listing occurred, then a Stage 2 Request For Tender was released to the short-listed companies. In June 2002 after the Stage 1 bids from nine tenderers were evaluated, Government decided not to proceed with private financing as there was no clear financial advantage in pursuing that option. The Stage 2 Request For Tender for direct purchase closed in November 2002 and in August 2003 the Minister for Defence announced the preferred tenderer as Defence Maritime Services (DMS). In December 2003 Defence signed a contract with DMS for the supply and support of 12 ACPB. The scheduled delivery for the vessels was to be from May 2005 to June 2007. In May 2005 further funding was provided for an additional two vessels to be acquired under Project Sea 1444, to operate as part of the Government's Securing the North West Shelf policy. All 14 vessels have been delivered and achieved initial operational release (IOR) and commissioned into the Navy. The last vessel achieved IOR in November 2007 and commissioned in February 2008. |
| Uniqueness | The contractor had to propose the number of vessels required to meet the operational requirements and their maintenance obligations. In the original tender, 12 vessels was the minimum that could be supplied to meet the proposed requirement. This approach also involved Navy moving to a multi-crewing philosophy for the ACPB fleet. Also, following Government direction (equivalent to first pass) the acquisition strategy considered both private finance and ownership models for the acquisition of the required capability. This strategy meant that with either model DMO contracted for the acquisition and support of the fleet in one single contract rather than the traditional acquisition model followed by a separate support contract. |
| Major Challenges | ACPB Rectification Program. A rectification program was instigated with the prime contractor in July 2009 to bring all vessels to the product baseline as represented by HMAS GLENELG by December 2011. This program will enable the achievement of FOC for the class in February 2012. HMA Ships MARYBOROUGH, CHILDERS, ARMIDALE, LAUNCESTON, LARRAKIA, BATHURST and ALBANY completed their rectification work as scheduled and have now achieved OR. Fuel system. The problem of water contamination causing fuel pump failures and fuel cloudiness has been resolved through a series of design changes and changes to operating procedures. Modified fuel oil purifier sets were successfully trialed on three vessels and fitment across the remainder of the Class has commenced. Sea-boat davit hydraulics. Tests conducted by AUSTAL on the sea-boat davits indicate that hydraulic piping modifications and upgrades to the hydraulic power packs are unable to deliver a system that meets the contracted performance. DMS has engaged a specialist hydraulic sub-contractor to carryout modifications to HMAS BUNDABERG and will conduct their own tests to assess system performance to enable delivery of a compliant davit hydraulic system. Austere Accommodation Compartment. As a result of successful trials following modifications to the exhaust stacks and the black and grey water system and the installation of gas sensors in the Austere Accommodation Compartment (AAC), the Navy has lifted the restrictions on the use of the compartment (on the modified vessels) for appropriately trained Defence personnel. Sewerage Treatment Plant. A repeat of the First of Class Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) trial indicated that there was no evidence of Hydrogen Sulphide (H2S) generation affecting the AAC but found environmental concerns related to overboard discharge quality not meeting the latest IMO, MEPC targets. These concerns are still under investigation however the Classification Society only requires an International Maritime Organisation (IMO) compliant STP to be fitted. This issue does not impact the safety of the STP or sewage system in relation to the production of H2S or other toxic gases. |
| Other Current Projects/Sub-Projects | N/A |