Osbourne Redevelopment give SA Shipbuilding a bright future

FEATURE - PROJECTS

OSBORNE REDEVELOPMENT GIVES SA SHIPBUILDING A BRIGHT FUTURE

REDEVELOPMENT of the Osborne Naval Shipyard (ONS) at the northern end of Le Fevre Peninsula and with access to the Port River is one of the biggest infrastructure projects currently underway in SA.

Australian Naval Infrastructure Pty Ltd (ANI), a government business enterprise, is tasked with developing and managing works across the shipyard to support a long-term shipbuilding industry.

Two precincts covering approximately 85 hectares are being prepared: Osborne South is about 60 per cent ready to undertake a continuous build program for vessels up to destroyer size while Osborne North, approximately three times larger, is in the early stages of planning and design for submarine construction.

The federal government has committed $535 million for the Osborne South Development Project (OSDP). Lendlease was engaged as the managing contractor in October 2017. New ship-building infrastructure is scheduled for commissioning in the second quarter of 2020. Hunter-class frigates will be built there to replace the Anzac-class, with the first of nine vessels to enter service in the late 2020s.

“We are putting in this production-line equipment to support the construction of the Hunter-class for the next 35 years,” ANI Project Director Phil Cornish said. “ANI is to develop and hand over the new submarine facilities and ultimately remain as the landlord. We are the delivery authority for this critical shipyards infrastructure.”

Laing O’Rourke is managing contractor of the Osborne North Development Project (ONDP) where a sod-turning ceremony occurred in December 2018. Site works for the new infrastructure will commence in the third quarter of 2019. Twelve Attack-class submarines will be built there in a 50-year program. The first will enter service in the 2030s with construction extending into the late 2040s to 2050.

The Osborne Naval Shipyard opened in 2010 as a common user facility with a 213-metre wharf, runway, dry berth, transfer system and the largest shiplift in the southern hemisphere with a lifting capacity of 20,000 tonnes.

Mr Cornish said part of the program of works was to upgrade the existing facilities to support the continuous naval shipbuilding programs. “I have recently visited some of the European shipyards and the positive coming out of European advice is that we have a large amount of real estate to efficiently and effectively build ships at Osborne,” he said.

“We have a facility that is giving the ship builder clear space whereas they don’t have that luxury in some of the yards in Europe. Osborne is certainly going to provide both the latest in world-class shipbuilding plant and equipment as well as the space to safely

and efficiently deliver the vessels.”

Currently 350 to 400 people are on site, covering everything from carpentry/ formwork and structural steel, to crane operation and rigging with a broad scope of work for concreters, carpenters, plant operators and general labourers.

WITH SECURITY IN MIND

Four large halls are being constructed to enable shipbuilding to occur indoors out of the weather and adding to security. They are: Paint and Blast Hall – 23 metres high x 60 metres long x 30 metres wide; Steel Fabrication and Unit Workshop – 14,331 square metres comprising a West, North, Central and East hall; Block Assembly Hall – 28.46 metres high x 160 metres long x 47.8 metres wide; Block Outfitting and Ship Assembly Hall – 50 metres high x 190 metres long x 90 metres wide.

Moving through three halls, steel plate will be fabricated into the required size and units, then welded to form blocks that make up the shipbuilding process. The other main building is to be a blast and paint facility where the blocks or elements of the vessel are painted prior to consolidation in the vessel.

“We have gone from a consolidation-type shipyard to a fully integrated shipyard,” Mr Cornish said. “That is one of the pluses with Osborne – you now have a shipyard that will provide the full capability of building a ship. We will not be relying on others to complete the shipbuild.”

Piling on the OSDP was a mix of Franki and precast piling methods. Known as displacement piling, these methods ensure that underground soils are not brought to the surface, eliminating the need to manage additional dust, spoil and potential contaminants.

Approximately 55,000 cubic metres of expansive concrete floors up to 1.5 metres thick in places were poured for the halls. These slab designs are unique – they need to support 10,000-tonne ships. The foundations required more than 13,000 tonnes of steel reinforcement. More than 9,000 tonnes of fabricated steelwork exist in the new shipyard buildings.

With individual pours up to 700 cubic metres in size and 1.5 metres thick, the concrete needed to be placed in a minimum of three layers during a continuous pour cycle.

Mr Cornish said ANI was focussed on promoting local participation for Australian businesses and this included local South Australian companies like SA Structural Steel and Samaras. “We have 48 Australian subcontractors working on the project. Of those, 41 or 98 per cent are local being within 150 kilometres of the project.”

Of the submarine project he said: “It will be similar in capability to Osborne South with a large number of fabrication and assembly halls, but on a larger footprint to the north of the Osborne South shipyard.

“While elements of work at the ONS are being done through managing contractor appointments, there are other project works that ANI will look to deliver over the next three to five years through alternative delivery models. These will provide opportunities for other local contractors to be involved, including CCF members – works associated with the precincts such as car parks, service relocation and installation of landscaping and pedestrian walkways. Many of these works will be procured using the Industry Capability Network.”

Mr Cornish said funding had been committed to progress the development of the ONDP in a staged manner. It was anticipated site works for the main facilities would start in the third quarter of 2019. Over the next two years ANI’s focus will be on planning and design development of that facility in partnership with Naval Group and Defence.

Footnote: ANI has begun information sessions about the projects. These are promoted through the City of Port Adelaide Enfield Facebook page and ANI website at this stage.

Written by John Satterley