Singapore Technologies Marine has been selected as the preferred tenderer for converting the Royal Australian Navy warship, HMAS Success, to double-hull configuration.

The double hulling of the warship is to meet International Maritime Organisation standards for environmental protection against oil spills.

The Australian Department of Defence allocated A$79m for ship repair and maintenance in 2010, and has plans to spend A$81m next year.

The department plans to spend A$12m-$17m on repair work on HMAS Kanimbla and HMAS Manoora over the next two weeks, according to The Sydney Morning Herald.

Tenders worth A$500m for five-year ship maintenance contracts to take place at Garden Island, Sydney, Australia, will also be floated.

The work will be performed in Singapore where the ship has a scheduled visit while on deployment in Asia.