Login
iscover
The companies have formed a strategic alliance to help inform the production and delivery of Australia’s future fleet of nuclear-powered submarines.
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
Risk and safety consultancy firm ALARP Solutions has entered into a strategic alliance with Risktec Solutions in a bid to leverage collective experience in the nuclear risk and safety space experience to ensure the future SSN program’s compliance with Australian Naval Policy and maritime regulation.
This is expected to include consulting on maritime regulation and safety cases for nuclear submarines, dockyards, and facilities.
“We are in the unique position to provide immediate education and training in the nuclear context on safety, governance, risk, assurance, and metrics,” Bradley Robb, managing director of ALARP Solutions, said.
Dr John Llambias, director of Risktec Solutions, welcomed the opportunity to support the delivery of the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) next-generation fleet, promised under the AUKUS agreement.
“Risktec is delighted to be partnering with a world-leading risk and safety consultancy to help grow the nuclear safety capability within Australia,” Dr Llambias said.
The new strategic alliance is expected to enable ALARP Solutions to expand its existing nuclear safety capability.
This is tipped to entail the onboarding of expertise in nuclear systems and supporting the provision of training, risk assessments, system safety and human factors engineering, safety case development and assurance for Commonwealth and defence industry.
The alliance comes amid continued investigation into the optimal SSN procurement pathway.
The Commonwealth government’s Nuclear Submarine Taskforce is expected to determine whether Australia would proceed with a set SSN design — potentially involving off-the-shelf purchases — or a bespoke solution leveraging an existing platform’s base design.
The United Kingdom’s Astute Class and the United States’ Virginia Class vessels are expected to form the basis of a future RAN platform.
The taskforce is expected to hand down its recommendations in March 2023.
Expediting the delivery has been a core focus of the Albanese government, which has acknowledged a potential capability gap.
Alternative capabilities are being explored to shore-up Australia’s defences in the event of protracted delivery of the SSNs.
[Related: AUKUS members renew pledge to strengthen defence ties ]
