Something fishy is going on.

Defence Minister Kevin Andrew popped into Adelaide this morning where he visited the ASC shipyards.

You may recall that ASC built the Collins class submarines (which are soon to be replaced) but the company was criticised by Mr Andrews' predecessor, David Johnston. Senator Johnston lost the portfolio shortly after.

South Australian MPs are concerned about the effect on jobs if ASC does not build the next batch of submarines.

Mr Andrews repeated the phrase "competitive evaluation process" but would not commit to an open tender.