Meko frigate best for Chch industry

Press, 27 April 1989, Page 10

Meko frigate best for Chch industry

By

DAVE WILSON

Canterbury industry’s strongest chance of taking part in the Anzac frigates project hinges on the West German-designed Meko frigate, a visit to the competing frigate consortia in Australia has revealed.

Amecon, the Melbourne consortium which, with Cable Price Downer in New Zealand, is proposing the West German Meko ship design, has detailed plans for substantial development at Lyttelton. Canterbury or New Plymouth are the consortium’s favoured sites for construction of hull and superstructure modules in the 12-frigate project. ■' The rival consortium, Australian Warship System in New South Wales, is targeting Dunedin industry, rather than Canterbury, should its Dutchdesigned M Class frigate be chosen as the Anzac choice. McConnell Dowell, the New Zealand partner in the group, says it is putting a special emphasis on South Island involvement in the construction work, but is effectively by-pass-ing Christchurch because of Cable Price Downer’s ownership of the big engineering facilities in the district. Both consortia outlined their plans to a group of New Zealand journalists on a Ministry of Defenceorganised tour of shipyards and Anzac project offices in Australia. Neither Amecon nor Australian Warship Systems was prepared to dis-

close the precise split or volume of work specific regions in New Zealand could expect from the Anzac frigates contract. But data furnished by the consortia clearly indicated that Amecon was seriously considering Lyttelton as a site for hull and superstructure module construction and a substantial range of internal ship fittings. Mr Tony Shepherd, the consortium’s Anzac ship project co-ordinator, said the New Zealand industry level of participation in the frigate build was guaranteed, and Amecon had further guaranteed to pay cash penalties should it fail to meet the required level. “We are prepared to write New Zealand industry participation into the contract and believe this figure will reach the SNZI billion level” he said. Amecon is proposing to build frigates at Williamstown in Victoria and in Newcastle, ’ New South Wales. Mr Shepherd said New Zealand involvement would effectively represent the output of half a shipyard. The modular nature of the Meko design meant substantial work could be done in New Zealand, including piping and ven-

tilation work, cabling, insulation and doors. Mr Bruce McLean, Cable Price Downer’s Anzac project manager, said there was no clear frontrunner between Lyttelton or New Plymouth for the hull module contract. “It’s a competitive situation. There are advantages in both locations.” Mr Malcolm Morrison, Amecon’s industry project co-ordinator, said New Zealand’s defence industry capabilities were lower than Australia’s, but New Zealand was able to satisfy a large share of the “low-tech” side of the project. “Panelling, cutlery, carpets, door handles, toilet seats for example, there are thousands of small but important items that go into a ship. It is an area with considerable potential and a lot of money to be spent.” New Zealand would also have the opportunity to compete for about $7OO million of computer software needed to run the onboard ship systems of the new designs. Australian Warship Systems (A.W.S.) is also promising substantial New Zealand industry participation should its Dutch M Class design win the An-

zac project. Mr Doug Roser, managing director of A.W.S., said the consortium was committed to an over-all level of New Zealand industry involvement. A.W.S. had proposed in its frigate tender to build three warship hulls in New Zealand and Mr Roser said while that was still a serious option it was an alternative to the basic plan of all 12 hulls being built in Australia. Mr Tony Parsons, chief executive of McConnell Dowell, said the frigate project represented opportunities for significant new business developments in New Zealand in areas such as specialist sheetmetal work. He denied that the New Zealand partner in the A.W.S. consortium had confined its investigation to the North Island. “The work would be widely spread throughout New Zealand and we are putting an emphasis in the South Island. If we are looking at the fabrication of ship modules, Amecon has a facility in Christchurch but it is not available to us at present.” Mr Parsons confirmed that McConnell Dowell was placing an emphasis on Dunedin.