Australian Navy Confirms Propulsion Problems On Board Its Spanish Built Warships

Australian naval engineers are investigating the problems in the propulsion systems of two Spanish-built warships.

The Royal Australian Navy’s US$1.5 billion worth HMAS Adelaide and HMAS Canberra are facing an issue with its propulsion systems. “Oils have leaked into parts of the vessels' propulsion system where they shouldn't be,” naval chiefs said in a briefing on Friday, The Straits Times report.

Rear Admiral Adam Grunsell, the head of maritime systems in defence force's capability acquisition and sustainment group, said the problem could be a design issue, though it is too early to speculate.

Both Landing Helicopter Docks (LHDs) were built by Spanish firm Navantia using propulsion pods from German company Siemens and fitted with combat and communications systems by British company BAE Systems.

The three companies are working with the navy to help identify the problems.

HMAS Canberra and HMAS Adelaide were commissioned in late 2014 and 2015 respectively, and were touted as a the next generation of Australian naval ships when they took to the sea.