Shorten queries icebreaker tender process

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten has voiced concern about the tender process as Australia looks to spend millions of dollars on a new Antarctic icebreaker vessel.

Canberra has put aside money to replace the ageing Aurora Australis ship, but there's only one tender - from a foreign company.

"It doesn't sound like a competitive process when there's only one bidder," Mr Shorten told reporters in Launceston on Wednesday.