Arafura Class Milestone

The keel of the first Arafura class offshore patrol vessel has officially been constructed on time and on budget.

More than 50 tonnes of Australian steel has been assembled at Osborne Naval Shipyard, satisfying the contractual requirement for keel construction of the lead ship.

The Minister for Defence, the Hon Christopher Pyne MP, said the milestone was a further demonstration of Australian industry’s ability to deliver on schedule.

“This represents the ongoing success story of the Government’s $90 billion continuous shipbuilding endeavour in Australia,” said Minister Pyne.

Under the $3.6 billion project, the first two OPVs will be built at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in South Australia.

Construction on the first OPV started on time in November last year.

“ASC is working very well with Luerssen Australia to build the first two OPVs.”

The project will move to Henderson in Western Australia in 2020 where 10 OPVs will be built by CIVMEC in partnership with Luerssen Australia.

It’s estimated the project will create around 1000 direct and indirect jobs.

A ceremony to mark the keel laying of the first ship, Arafura, the lead ship in the Arafura class, will be held soon after the blocks are structurally completed and moved to the fitting out facility.