Serco wins Australian icebreaker ship contract

Serco has won a £160m contract to design, build and operate the new icebreaker research and supply vessel for the Australian Antarctic mission.

The FTSE 250 outsourcing group said the contract was to manage the four-year design and build phase, followed by a 10-year operation and maintenance phase that could potentially be extended by four five-year blocks.

Replacing the Aurora Australis, the new state-of-the-art vessel, which is unlikely to be named Boaty McBoatface like its British counterpart, will supply Antarctic research stations with cargo, equipment and personnel, and carry out research from extensive laboratory facilities on board.

Serco said the icebreaker will carry 34 crew from its DMS Maritime subsidiary and up to 116 scientific personnel from the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD) of the Department of the Environment.

Australia has three permanent research stations within its Antarctic territory, that will be served by the vessel, as well as its research station on Macquarie Island.

The ship will be designed and built by DMS Maritime's subcontractor Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding.

Serco's Asia Pacific chief executive officer, Mark Irwin, said the contract will see Serco "play a vital role in supporting Australian and global Antarctic scientific programmes through the provision of experienced ice-qualified crews, maintenance engineers and our extensive services in vessel management.

"These operations will significantly expand Serco's existing presence in Tasmania, and will further strengthen our substantial expertise in project management and end-to-end vessel support to the marine industry."