In a significant development for Australian shipbuilding, Luerssen Australia this week announced the awarding of a services contract with Indigenous-owned Tammar Contractors.

The contract which provides a dedicated rigging and support teams to Luerssen Australia is one of the first of its kind to be awarded to an Indigenous-owned company within the burgeoning Australian defence sector.

Jointly owned by proud Noongar Ballardong man Larry Kickett, and BRE Engineering Managing Director, Tammar will be dedicated to working on providing these services out of the Henderson shipyards in Western Australia.

The contract is part of a $3.5 billion program to design and build Australia's fleet of 12 Arafura Class Offshore Patrol Vessels or OPVs which are replacing the Armidale-class patrol vessels.

"We are very happy to be teaming up with Luerssen Australia on the OPV Program and we look forward to working collaboratively to grow our capabilities and contribute to the shipbuilding sector in WA," said Larry Kickett.

Luerssen Australia CEO, Jens Nielsen said that the awarding of this contract to Tammar underscored the company's commitment to Australian and First Nation's local content.

"Luerssen Australia is an Australian company, employing Australian workers, in Australian shipyards, using Australian steel to build Royal Australian Navy vessels,"

"We are extremely proud to be engaging more and more local suppliers on the OPV Program, and we are happy to be working with Tammar Contractors, a registered First Nations supplier," he said.

When Luerssen Australia was first announced by the Commonwealth Government as the company that had been awarded the contract for the OPVs, it was claimed that the project would support up to 1000 Australian workers - 400 direct and a further 600 in the supply chain.

This contract arrives at a time when the Federal Government is investing billions of dollars into Western Australia's shipbuilding sector over the next decade.