SHIPBUILDING UNDERWAY DOWN UNDER

Australia’s plan to ramp-up sovereign shipbuilding gathers pace.

- Tim Fish

Australia has ambitious plans for the construction of new anti-submarine warfare frigates and diesel-electric submarines that will modernise Royal Australian Navy (RAN) capabilities in the next decade. In order to deliver these platforms the government has devoted $680 million (A$1 billion) in its Naval Shipbuilding Plan to build two new shipyards at Osborne, South Australia.

These will give Australia a sovereign shipbuilding capability to produce both frigates and submarines in Australia. Australian Naval Infrastructure (ANI) is the organisation – created in 2017 mandated to develop, own and operate new shipyards that will achieve this task.

The first shipyard at Osborne South has been completed and is to be handed over to prime contractor BAE Systems on 1 July. The company will run the shipyard under license to build the nine new Hunter-class frigates. The second shipyard at Osborne North is still under development and will eventually be used by Naval Group to build 12 new Attackclass submarines.

Andrew Seaton, CEO of ANI, told Asian Military Review that there are ‘different approaches’ to the construction of the North and South facilities.

He said that Osborne South was designed by Odense Maritime Technology as a ‘generic’ shipyard built by construction company LendLease. This means that it can not only build the Hunter-class but also future warships up to destroyer size with a maximum 170 metre length and 10,000 tonnes displacement. “BAE were told what shipyard they would be given, but around the edges like the pipe shop we have worked with BAE to make sure the flow of materials meets their requirements,” Seaton explained.