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| Good oil on Sirius asset By Michael Brooke Volume 50, No.2, February 22, 2007 |
| The RAN’s new fleet oiler project, HMAS Sirius (CMDR T.G. Crawford), is very much a good news acquisition as it was delivered on time and under budget while meeting the required standards of capability and safety. The fact a ship of this size was delivered not only ahead of the revised schedule but also under budget was a testament to all those involved in the project. An Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) report on the purchase of Sirius largely commended the Defence Materiel Organisation (DMO) and the Australian Defence Industry on its management and implementation of the project. The ANAO report noted that in less than three months following Government approval the DMO “successfully completed the identification, evaluation and purchase of an existing product tanker that was suitable for modification to fulfil the role as the Navy’s new fleet oiler”. Kim Gillis, Deputy CEO of the Defence Materiel Organisation, has defended the project which received some negative media coverage in a Melbourne newspaper recently. “All fire and safety checks were completed satisfactorily before Navy took responsibility for the ship while all safety-signage and first-aid equipment was installed and tested before Navy took the ship to sea,” he said. Mr Gillis said the ANAO report was not “deeply critical” of the DMO as reported in the newspaper. “Sirius is a striking example of the efficiency that can be gained from the purchase of off-the-shelf products where appropriate for Australia’s capability requirements,” he said. |