Civmec, which provides engineering services to the Australian mining sector as well as the oil and gas industry, has never built a ship before, let alone one that moves underwater. Yet, the six-year-old company is not letting this fact get in the way of its ambition to build submarines for the Australian government.

In September this year, Civmec set up a defence business and began bidding for government work. The company has seen some promising results. On Nov 13, it announced A$20 million ($20.3 million) worth of contracts, one of which is for the Australian Department of Defence. Civmec will carry out earthworks, excavation, demolition, roadworks and landscaping on a Helicopter Aircrew Training System project in New South Wales. On Nov 17, the company also announced that it would begin due diligence for the acquisition of the shipbuilding assets of its rival, Forgacs Engineering.

Forgacs is Australia’s largest privately owned engineering and shipbuilding company. It is engaged in major project engineering, construction and maintenance for the defence and commercial markets. Civmec’s CEO and co-founder Patrick Tallon says the acquisition will “give us the opportunity to acquire in-house submarine-building and technical expertise”. A Reuters report quotes a source as saying the division being divested to Civmec generates about 60% of Forgacs’ annual revenue of A$120 million.