The Australian: Ben Packham.
Only one of the nation’s Collins-class submarines is currently operational in a critical blow to national security, as corrosion problems, maintenance delays and long-running industrial action wreak havoc on the fleet’s availability. Five of the six boats are out of action and there are now serious questions over the navy’s ability to extend the life of the fleet by a further ten years to bridge a looming capability gap before Australia’s nuclear submarine’s arrive.
HMAS Collins – Sydney Harbour – Defence Archives
The Australian can also reveal the Collins boats, which are approaching the end of their original 30-year lifespans, are now being used more lightly when they are available under a deliberate strategy to avoid unnecessary wear and tear. One of the submarines, HMAS Sheean, has been stuck in maintenance at Adelaide’s Osborne yard for more than two years with unprecedented corrosion issues, while a second, HMAS Rankin, has been tied up at Osborne for at least five months awaiting upgrades.
Three of the boats – HMAS Farncomb and two others which The Australian is not naming for security reasons – are undergoing or about to undergo maintenance work at Perth’s Henderson precinct. The remaining Collins boat, which The Australian is also not naming to preserve its operational security, has recently been deployed on exercises and is available for tasking.
It’s understood one of the boats at Henderson is due to exit maintenance in coming weeks, and could re-enter service soon subject to official clearances. Defence insists another of the boats could be pulled from scheduled maintenance in an emergency.
An industrial dispute between unions and the government’s submarine maintenance corporation ASC has exacerbated the problems, setting back work on HMAS Sheean and preventing HMAS Rankin from being lifted from the water. The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union is leading a campaign to boost South Australian ASC workers’ pay by 18.5 per cent to match rates paid by ASC in Western Australia to keep workers from jumping to the mining sector.