{"id":88243,"date":"2024-08-06T17:54:25","date_gmt":"2024-08-06T07:54:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?p=88243"},"modified":"2024-08-06T17:54:25","modified_gmt":"2024-08-06T07:54:25","slug":"austal-should-stay-independent-of-foreign-frigate-builders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/austal-should-stay-independent-of-foreign-frigate-builders\/","title":{"rendered":"Austal should stay independent of foreign frigate builders"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/figure>\n

It isn\u2019t clear whether Hanwha Ocean is still interested in buying Australian shipbuilder Austal, but the government should oppose such an acquisition by the South Korean company or any other contender for the general purpose frigate program.<\/p>\n

If Hanwha Ocean or one of its rivals bought Austal, in doing so the new owner might also acquire a powerful advantage in a competition that should be based entirely on Australian security considerations. Anyway, there would be a risk for the buyer of the deal backfiring, resulting in ownership of an Australian asset with no major local naval shipbuilding contracts.<\/p>\n

Hanwha Ocean, part of the Hanwha Group conglomerate, is one of five foreign shipbuilders that the government has named as possible suppliers of 11 general purpose frigates. Eight of the frigates would directly replace the eight Anzac class ships of the same category, and three would expand the fleet.<\/p>\n

Austal said in April that Hanwha Ocean had bid for it. The company declined to endorse the offer but the Australian government had no objection to it. Although Hanwha Ocean has reportedly<\/a> lost interest, it has not said so. Even if it has, its move raises the possibility that one of the other foreign builders could try the same tactic.<\/p>\n

They are South Korea\u2019s HD Hyundai Heavy Industries Co (HHI), Spain\u2019s Navantia, Japan\u2019s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) and Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems from Germany. The government is seeking information on how, where and when the builders could construct the first three frigates. The remaining eight frigates are intended to be built in Henderson, Western Australia.<\/p>\n

There are only two shipbuilders in Henderson that could be awarded the contract for local construction:\u00a0 Austal and Forgacs Marine & Defence, a subsidiary of Civmec, a heavy engineering and construction company listed on the Australian and Singaporean stock exchanges. Forgacs is building patrol ships of the Arafura class.<\/p>\n

While Austal in partnership with a US company has built frigate-size warships in the US, it has not built a warship of that size or larger in Australia. It has scored a significant advantage over Forgacs, signing a heads of agreement with the government last year to establish a Strategic Shipbuilding Agreement.\u00a0 When that final agreement is signed this year, Austal should become the strategic shipbuilder at Henderson. It has been speculated that Austal would then have a local monopoly over all future naval construction contracts in Western Australia.<\/p>\n

No doubt, Hanwha Ocean did its homework and when making its bid was confident that Austal, on the verge of being awarded strategic shipbuilder status, would be building the frigates. The South Korean company would have hoped that by acquiring Austal it would improve the chance of the government choosing the Hanwha Ocean frigate design. So, it would have bought a competitive edge.<\/p>\n

If Hanwha Ocean, or any of its competitors, acquired Austal before a frigate design was selected, the government would have two problems. Selecting a design by a new owner of Austal for construction by Austal\u2019s government-endorsed shipyard would lead to complaints of favouritism from the unsuccessful shipbuilders and claims of incompetence from the opposition.<\/p>\n

Other problems would arise if the design of a new Austal owner were not chosen. The winner would then be reluctant, at least, to have its design built by Austal. It would hardly want to put its intellectual property and building technology in the hands of a competitor. And even if that obstacle were overcome, the designer and Austal\u2019s new owner might try to pin responsibility on each other for any problems in program execution: the designer might say the construction work was no good, while the new Austal owner might blame the design. Completion of the project could be delayed while the warring parties sorted it out.<\/p>\n

Seeing such a risk, the government might prefer to ignore Austal and award Forgacs the frigate contract. The foreign buyer of Austal would then be left with a shipyard that lacked major Australian naval orders.<\/p>\n

Neither Hanwha Ocean nor any of the other bidders for the frigate program should be allowed to buy Austal. If one did, the results would be damage to the project before it even started and, probably, creation of project management difficulties later.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It isn\u2019t clear whether Hanwha Ocean is still interested in buying Australian shipbuilder Austal, but the government should oppose such an acquisition by the South Korean company or any other contender for the general purpose …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":634,"featured_media":88245,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[17,114,579,211],"class_list":["post-88243","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-australia","tag-ran","tag-shipbuilding","tag-south-korea"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAustal should stay independent of foreign frigate builders | The Strategist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/austal-should-stay-independent-of-foreign-frigate-builders\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Austal should stay independent of foreign frigate builders | The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It isn\u2019t clear whether Hanwha Ocean is still interested in buying Australian shipbuilder Austal, but the government should oppose such an acquisition by the South Korean company or any other contender for the general purpose ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/austal-should-stay-independent-of-foreign-frigate-builders\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Strategist\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-08-06T07:54:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20221106ran8620187_0128-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Chris Douglas\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ASPI_org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Chris Douglas\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\",\"name\":\"The Strategist\",\"description\":\"ASPI's analysis and commentary site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/austal-should-stay-independent-of-foreign-frigate-builders\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20221106ran8620187_0128-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20221106ran8620187_0128-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707,\"caption\":\"HMAS Arunta sails into formation during the International Fleet Review 2022 off the coast of Yokosuka, Japan. *** Local Caption *** Three Royal Australian Navy ships are currently conducting a regional presence deployment through the Indo-Pacific region. During their deployments HIMA Ships Hobart, Stalwart, and Arunta will undertake exercises and engagements with Australia's regional partners. The ships will also conduct engagements as part of Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2022, in the Philippines, Thailand and Timor-Leste. Regional presence deployments demonstrate Australia's commitment to and engagement with the region. These deployments play a vital role in Australia's long term security and prosperity by protecting Australia's interests, preserving a rules-based order, enhancing cooperation and relationships with regional partners and allies, and developing capability and interoperability.\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/austal-should-stay-independent-of-foreign-frigate-builders\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/austal-should-stay-independent-of-foreign-frigate-builders\/\",\"name\":\"Austal should stay independent of foreign frigate builders | The Strategist\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/austal-should-stay-independent-of-foreign-frigate-builders\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2024-08-06T07:54:25+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-08-06T07:54:25+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/59dd3ba5e987da2d59c5674a863f43c2\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/austal-should-stay-independent-of-foreign-frigate-builders\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/austal-should-stay-independent-of-foreign-frigate-builders\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/austal-should-stay-independent-of-foreign-frigate-builders\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Austal should stay independent of foreign frigate builders\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/59dd3ba5e987da2d59c5674a863f43c2\",\"name\":\"Chris Douglas\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/523428f745a43252fb35f2a684bf7fa8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/523428f745a43252fb35f2a684bf7fa8?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Chris Douglas\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/chris-douglas\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Austal should stay independent of foreign frigate builders | The Strategist","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/austal-should-stay-independent-of-foreign-frigate-builders\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Austal should stay independent of foreign frigate builders | The Strategist","og_description":"It isn\u2019t clear whether Hanwha Ocean is still interested in buying Australian shipbuilder Austal, but the government should oppose such an acquisition by the South Korean company or any other contender for the general purpose ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/austal-should-stay-independent-of-foreign-frigate-builders\/","og_site_name":"The Strategist","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ASPI.org","article_published_time":"2024-08-06T07:54:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20221106ran8620187_0128-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Chris Douglas","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@ASPI_org","twitter_site":"@ASPI_org","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Chris Douglas","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/","name":"The Strategist","description":"ASPI's analysis and commentary site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-AU"},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/austal-should-stay-independent-of-foreign-frigate-builders\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20221106ran8620187_0128-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/20221106ran8620187_0128-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707,"caption":"HMAS Arunta sails into formation during the International Fleet Review 2022 off the coast of Yokosuka, Japan. *** Local Caption *** Three Royal Australian Navy ships are currently conducting a regional presence deployment through the Indo-Pacific region. During their deployments HIMA Ships Hobart, Stalwart, and Arunta will undertake exercises and engagements with Australia's regional partners. The ships will also conduct engagements as part of Indo-Pacific Endeavour 2022, in the Philippines, Thailand and Timor-Leste. Regional presence deployments demonstrate Australia's commitment to and engagement with the region. These deployments play a vital role in Australia's long term security and prosperity by protecting Australia's interests, preserving a rules-based order, enhancing cooperation and relationships with regional partners and allies, and developing capability and interoperability."},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/austal-should-stay-independent-of-foreign-frigate-builders\/","url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/austal-should-stay-independent-of-foreign-frigate-builders\/","name":"Austal should stay independent of foreign frigate builders | The Strategist","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/austal-should-stay-independent-of-foreign-frigate-builders\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2024-08-06T07:54:25+00:00","dateModified":"2024-08-06T07:54:25+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/59dd3ba5e987da2d59c5674a863f43c2"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/austal-should-stay-independent-of-foreign-frigate-builders\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/austal-should-stay-independent-of-foreign-frigate-builders\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/austal-should-stay-independent-of-foreign-frigate-builders\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Austal should stay independent of foreign frigate builders"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/59dd3ba5e987da2d59c5674a863f43c2","name":"Chris Douglas","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/523428f745a43252fb35f2a684bf7fa8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/523428f745a43252fb35f2a684bf7fa8?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Chris Douglas"},"url":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/author\/chris-douglas\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88243"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/634"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=88243"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88243\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":88248,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/88243\/revisions\/88248"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/88245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=88243"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=88243"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.aspistrategist.ru\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=88243"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}