Friday, July 24, 2015

German firm suggests turning Australia into submarine industry hub for Asia

Rob Taylor/Wall Street Journal
21 July 2015
SYDNEY—In a bid to boost its chances of winning a US$20 billion submarine contract from Australia, ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems GmbH signaled it could create shipyard jobs and turn the country into a submarine-industry hub for much of Asia.
TKMS is competing with bidders from Japan and France to supply eight submarines in what is expected to be one of Australia’s single-largest defense contracts. The German company has proposed building the submarines in Australia and says it is speaking with potential local partners to provide parts and materials, all of which would help the country’s struggling shipyards remain viable.
Jim Duncan, director of TKMS Australia, said he envisaged countries such as Indonesia, Thailand and Singapore drawing on Australia for high-tech maintenance of their submarines. “We’ve got submarines right around the Asia-Pacific rim and the Indian Ocean rim, and Australia makes a lot of sense as being a service center for some of those customers,” he said in an interview.

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