Defence Update — RAN LSTs

Modification Work to Start on Former US Navy Tank Landing Ships

Extensive modification work to convert two former US Navy tank landing ships (LSTs) to Training and Helicopter Support Ships (THSS) for the Royal Australian Navy is due to start soon following the conclusion of contract negotiations in late April.

A Newcastle company, Forgacs Engineering, is the prime contractor chosen to carry out the modifications of HMAS Kanimbla and HMAS Manoora in parallel in a project worth about $120m including government furnished equipment (GFE). This is on top of the purchase price of $61m, and an estimated $23m cost to deal with hull rust problems which have been discovered to be more serious than when the vessels were surveyed in the US at the time of the deal in mid-1994. The rust issue, which has attracted the attention of the new Minister for Defence, Mr Ian McLachlan, is to be separately addressed by the Naval Support Command headquartered in Sydney.

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