Critical underwater sustainment and biofouling management services for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) will be delivered by Babcock Australasia (Babcock) and Franmarine as part a new $10m contract.
Since 2018, Babcock and Franmarine have delivered biofouling management capability to the RAN to support keeping Australian waters safe and secure by supporting the reduction of invasive marine species.
The new contract builds on the previous agreement and now includes supporting all major surface ships on both the East and West coasts. In addition to supporting the Asset Class Prime Contractor (ACPC) and Regional Maintenance Provider West (RMP West) programs, the new ships supported include the Hobart Class Destroyers, Bay Class Landing Ship Dock and Supply Auxiliary Oiler Replenishments.
The partnership has enabled development of MarineStream™ technology – an innovative, integrated block-chain enabled biofouling management system providing tangible benefits to the RAN.
The cleaning system removes and captures harmful biofouling to prevent non-indigenous Invasive Marine Species (IMS) being transferred via vessels, enabling ships to comply with all national and international biofouling regulations and standards.
Babcock’s Managing Director – Marine Simon Spratt said: “Babcock’s partnership with Franmarine demonstrates our continued commitment investing in local industry to deliver innovation and capability to the Royal Australian Navy.”
“This is a great example of how Babcock continues to support small and medium enterprises. We remain committed to supporting and growing our sovereign supply chain, helping Australia to remain safe and secure.”
Franmarine CEO Adam Falconer-West said: “Franmarine are proud to have reached yet another significant milestone together with Babcock, with the MarineStream™ technology solution now used to manage biofouling across the major surface force. “The program aims to protect marine biodiversity, reduce fuel consumption and associated greenhouse gas emissions, whilst other benefits include improved vessel performance and reduced corrosion rates”.
“Considering that biofouling is a global issue and that the benefits of effectively managing it can be quantified using novel technology, we are excited by the further growth that the partnership with Babcock has the potential to realise.”
Franmarine, supported by Babcock, was recently awarded a grant by the West Australian Government to facilitate the establishment of a global operations centre at Henderson that will employ an additional 66 employees in WA and create 74 new jobs over the life cycle of the project.